From a bioRxiv preprint , “Here we demonstrate a
complete cell cycle for a synthetic cell undergoing selection, with genome
replication, growth, resource acquisition via feeding, and genetically encoded
division” from “A Chemically Defined Synthetic Cell Capable Of Growth And
Replication”, Gaut et al., 2026.
Link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.01.735724v1#:~:text=Here%20we%20demonstrate%20a%20complete,feeding%2C%20and%20genetically%20encoded%20division
The question
I ask is a synthetic cell =synthetic life ? The answer is a resounding no. The
hallmark of biological organisms, higher up the hierarchy of the tree of life
is multicellularity followed by self-organization. Single cells survive in
specific environments and are more primitive. So until the single cell shows potential
for multicellularity and organization into colonies,clusters,tissues, it will
be a bottleneck for synthesizing “living organisms” from scratch.
During the
synthesis of an artificial cell, it
remains to be seen, that information coded in the molecular components or sub-structures
sufficient for the derivation of a cell in a fluid environment; or does
information encoded in the environment required ? A cell develops in a fluid
environment as its cytoplasm is gel-like and not in a solid such as sand.
Presumably, mobility of molecular components occur in a fluid. Maybe exchange
of information encoded in molecular
components and the fluid environment via molecule-environment interactions lead
to the emergence of a cell. The environment then becomes indispensable for
higher-order organization. So under controlled laboratory conditions, the
milieu for organization of cells into higher-order living structures, could be
derived from natural environments such as wetlands, marshes, hydrothermal vents as they
will encode the environmental information.
