Researchers from the US and Europe publish an overview of the synthetic cells field
Researchers from the United States and Europe have joined forces to draw up a review of the synthetic cells field, also accessible to non-specialists. Lynn Rothschild, astrobiologist, synthetic biologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, and member of the Build-A-Cell steering committee, led the writing of the article. It was published in ACS Synthetic Biology in March 2024 and covers a wide range of subjects: the question of how to define a cell and, more generally, life; the progress made to date; the challenges; the potential applications; the philosophical questions raised; and more. Just jump to your section of interest and read on!
Lynn J. Rothschild, Nils J. H. Averesch, Elizabeth A. Strychalski, Felix Moser, John I. Glass, Rolando Cruz Perez, Ibrahim O. Yekinni, Brooke Rothschild-Mancinelli, Garrett A. Roberts Kingman, Feilun Wu, Jorik Waeterschoot, Ion A. Ioannou, Michael C. Jewett, Allen P. Liu, Vincent Noireaux, Carlise Sorenson, and Katarz1yna P. Adamala
ACS Synthetic Biology 2024 13 (4), 974-997
DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00724
A collective effort to produce a detailed overview for a general audience
Synthetic cell research is an area of synthetic biology that aims to reproduce the core features of cells and, ultimately, to build cells from molecular components.
In the United States, the Build-A-Cell consortium supports people working together to build a diversity of synthetic cells. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the consortium organises day-long workshops twice a year to get together and explore specific topics. Following in-depth discussions at these workshops, a group of researchers from the United States and Europe have decided to write an overview of the field for a general audience.
Lynn Rothschild, astrobiologist and synthetic biologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and also a member of the Build-A-Cell steering committee, led the writing of the article: “Our aim was to provide a reference document, useful to everyone, not just researchers, on where the field is coming from, the current state of knowledge and the direction it could take.”
Published in ACS Synthetic Biology in March 2024, the article highlights different topics and issues related to this field. It is structured into topical sections, so that anyone, with or without in-depth knowledge, can easily identify the parts that interest them most. “It wouldn’t have been of this quality without all the co-authors,” added Lynn, underlining the collective effort that made this overview possible.
What you will find in this overview
Motivations, challenges, progress – the authors cover a wide range of subjects. They also address the practical and more philosophical questions that people may have about synthetic cells and the potential applications that could result from this field.
What is a cell and when can we say that we have created a system recognizable as alive?
In the article, the authors tackle the tricky problem of defining a cell and, more generally, life as such, which has a bearing on when it can be claimed that a synthetic cell has been created.
There is still no clear definition of life and cells, and it is possible that there is none at all. “At the moment we have a description of the common features of cells on planet Earth, but we can always find an exception,” said Lynn. “There is no simple answer to the question of when we can declare success, when we can say ‘Eureka, we have built a cell’. Success must therefore be based on the personal objectives of the researchers.”
Potential benefits, including for space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life
The authors have drawn up an exhaustive list of the potential benefits of research into synthetic cells: a fundamental understanding of how cells work will greatly benefit multiple applications, for example in the medical field, food industry, agriculture, and space exploration. In the latter case, where mass and volume are critical constraints, synthetic cells could be used to produce food, medicines and materials on site, instead of having to transport these materials from Earth.
They have also included a section on the origin of life and the search for life in the Universe. “If you don’t understand how life appeared on Earth, how can you know where else to look? So it’s important to understand how cells were built and could be built,” said Lynn.
A need for big thinkers to drive the field forward
The article also looks at the work that still needs to be done to realise the vision of building cells from molecular parts. So we asked Lynn what she thought would drive the field forward: more international collaborations, international funding and a coordinated network at international level, but above all, the field needs big ideas, big thinkers.
“There’s no point in having a lot of money and collaboration if people aren’t inspired and can’t see beyond the next step. If you set yourself a big goal, like building a cell, you’ll get the inspiration you need to achieve it.”
Special thanks to Lynn Rothschild for her help in preparing the article! The overview ‘Building Synthetic Cells─From the Technology Infrastructure to Cellular Entities’ published in ACS Synthetic Biology is open access.
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