ReviewMolecular systems biology2006
Towards synthesis of a minimal cell.
Review in Molecular systems biology, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 152 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
152 citing papers in PubMed.
- A self-replicating artificial module-genome that generates bacterial chromosome replication system in vitro.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Genetic encoding and mutagenesis of RNA droplet phenotypes.Nature chemical engineering · 2026Article
- Autonomous biogenesis of all thirty proteins of the Escherichia coli translation machinery.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Reconstituting transcription-translation-coupled DNA replication within complex in vitro biological systems.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Synthetic cells by the numbers.iScience · 2025Review
- Decoding the Minimal Translation System of the Plasmodium falciparum Apicoplast: Essential tRNA-modifying Enzymes and Their Roles in Organelle Maintenance.Journal of molecular biology · 2025Article
- Genetic encoding and expression of RNA origami cytoskeletons in synthetic cells.Nature nanotechnology · 2025Article
- Sustainable regeneration of 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in a reconstituted system toward self-synthesizing artificial systems.Science advances · 2025Article
- ATP Regeneration from Pyruvate in the PURE System.ACS synthetic biology · 2025Article
- tRNA modifying enzymes MnmE and MnmG are essential forbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Determination of the genome-scale metabolic network ofFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Advancing Therapeutic and Vaccine Proteins: Switching from Recombinant to Ribosomal Delivery-A Humanitarian Cause.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Darwinian Evolution of Self-Replicating DNA in a Synthetic Protocell.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Cracking the Code: Reprogramming the Genetic Script in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes to Harness the Power of Noncanonical Amino Acids.Chemical reviews · 2024Review
- tRNA lysidinylation is essential for the minimal translation system found in the apicoplast ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Leveraging Active Learning to Establish Efficient In Vitro Transcription and Translation from Bacterial Chromosomal DNA.ACS omega · 2024Article
- Translational impacts of enzymes that modify ribosomal RNA around the peptidyl transferase centre.RNA biology · 2024Article
- Emergence of linkage between cooperative RNA replicators encoding replication and metabolic enzymes through experimental evolution.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- Minimal Out-of-Equilibrium Metabolism for Synthetic Cells: A Membrane Perspective.ACS synthetic biology · 2023Review
- A Hitchhiker's Guide to Supplying Enzymatic Reducing Power into Synthetic Cells.ACS synthetic biology · 2023Review
92 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Construction of a chemical system capable of replication and evolution, fed only by small molecule nutrients, is now conceivable. This could be achieved by stepwise integration of decades of work on the reconstitution of DNA, RNA and protein syntheses from pure components. Such a minimal cell project would initially define the components sufficient for each subsystem, allow detailed kinetic analyses and lead to improved in vitro methods for synthesis of biopolymers, therapeutics and biosensors. Completion would yield a functionally and structurally understood self-replicating biosystem. Safety concerns for synthetic life will be alleviated by extreme dependence on elaborate laboratory reagents and conditions for viability. Our proposed minimal genome is 113 kbp long and contains 151 genes. We detail building blocks already in place and major hurdles to overcome for completion.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.