Surprising Resilience: Synthetic Cell with Reduced Genome Evolves as Quickly as Normal Cells, Defying Expectations

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of synthetic biology. Evolutionary biologist Jay T. Lennon and his team have been studying a synthetic minimal cell that has been stripped of 45% of its genes, leaving only the essential genes required for autonomous life. Surprisingly, the researchers found that this minimal cell evolved just as quickly as a regular cell, demonstrating the inherent resilience of life.

The study, published in the journal Nature, focused on a synthetic organism called Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn3B. This organism is a minimized version of the bacterium M. mycoides, which is commonly found in the guts of goats and similar animals. Over time, the natural bacterium has lost many of its genes as it evolved to depend on its host for nutrition. In 2016, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute further reduced the genome of M. mycoides, eliminating 45% of its genes and creating the minimal genome of M. mycoides JCVI-syn3B.

Despite its reduced genome, the minimal cell was able to grow and divide in laboratory conditions. Lennon and his team wanted to understand how this minimal cell would respond to the forces of evolution over time. They allowed the minimal cell to evolve freely for 300 days, equivalent to 2000 bacterial generations or about 40,000 years of human evolution.

The researchers then compared the evolved minimal cells to the original non-minimal M. mycoides and a strain of minimal cells that hadn’t evolved for 300 days. They found that the non-minimal version easily outcompeted the unevolved minimal version. However, the minimal cells that had evolved for 300 days performed much better, effectively recovering all of the fitness that they had lost due to genome streamlining.

The researchers identified the genes that changed the most during evolution, with some involved in constructing the surface of the cell. The functions of several other genes remain unknown. The study highlights the power of natural selection to rapidly optimize fitness in the simplest autonomous organism, with implications for the evolution of cellular complexity.

Understanding how organisms with simplified genomes overcome evolutionary challenges has important implications for various fields, including the treatment of clinical pathogens, the persistence of host-associated endosymbionts, the refinement of engineered microorganisms, and the origin of life itself. This research demonstrates that life has a remarkable ability to adapt and evolve, even under perceived limitations. As Ian Malcolm famously said in Jurassic Park, “Life finds a way.”

What implications does the discovery of a minimal set of genes required for life have for synthetic biology and our understanding of evolution

Nes, making it an ideal candidate for studying the minimal set of genes required for life.

To create the synthetic minimal cell, Lennon and his team used a technique called genome editing to gradually remove non-essential genes from the bacterium. They started with M. mycoides and systematically deleted genes until they reached 45% gene reduction, leaving behind only the most essential genes.

Once the synthetic minimal cell was created, the researchers tested its evolutionary capabilities. They subjected the cell to a variety of environmental stressors, such as variations in temperature and nutrient availability. Surprisingly, they found that the synthetic cell evolved just as quickly as a regular cell, adapting to the changing conditions.

This discovery challenges the notion that a complex genome is necessary for rapid evolution. The minimal cell, with its stripped-down genome, was still able to undergo genetic changes and adapt to its environment. This suggests that life has an inherent resilience that allows it to evolve even with a limited set of genes.

The findings of this study have significant implications for the field of synthetic biology. Understanding the minimal set of genes required for life could help scientists design more efficient and streamlined synthetic organisms for various applications, such as biofuels production and drug development.

Moreover, this research provides insights into the fundamental mechanisms of evolution. By studying a simplified version of life, scientists can gain a better understanding of how evolution works and potentially apply this knowledge to other areas, such as conservation and disease prevention.

Overall, this groundbreaking discovery in the field of synthetic biology highlights the remarkable resilience of life. Even with a genome stripped down to its bare essentials, the synthetic minimal cell was able to evolve and adapt, challenging our previous assumptions about the complexity of life’s evolutionary processes.