ArticleNature communications2021
Proton gradients from light-harvesting E. coli control DNA assemblies for synthetic cells.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Morphology-coupled formation and reversible gating of membrane channels in synthetic cells using reconfigurable DNA nanorafts.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Let There be Light! Light as an Engine and Regulator in Synthetic Cells.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Review
- Membrane-Penetrating Molecular Device Based on a Triplex Containing Acyclic L-Threoninol Nucleic Acid Functionalized with Cholesterol.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Article
- pH-responsive synthetic cells for controlled protein synthesis and release.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Extracellular Vesicles and Their Role in Skin Inflammatory Diseases: From Pathogenesis to Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Membraneless protocell confined by a heat flow.Nature physics · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal Communication in Artificial Cell Consortia for Dynamic Control of DNA Nanostructures.ACS central science · 2024Article
- Lipid osmosis, membrane tension, and other mechanochemical driving forces of lipid flow.Current opinion in cell biology · 2024Review
- Polysaccharide functionalization reduces lipid vesicle stiffness.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Lipid osmosis, membrane tension, and other mechanochemical driving forces of lipid flow.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Light Color-Controlled pH-Adjustment of Aqueous Solutions Using Engineered Proteoliposomes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Microfluidic Giant Polymer Vesicles Equipped with Biopores for High-Throughput Screening of Bacteria.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Lipid vesicle-based molecular robots.Lab on a chip · 2024Review
- Preparation and biomedical applications of artificial cells.Materials today. Bio · 2023Review
- Engineering DNA-based cytoskeletons for synthetic cells.Interface focus · 2023Review
- Charge controlled interactions between DNA-modified silica nanoparticles and fluorosurfactants in microfluidic water-in-oil droplets.Nanoscale advances · 2023Article
- Extracellular Cues Govern Shape and Cytoskeletal Organization in Giant Unilamellar Lipid Vesicles.ACS synthetic biology · 2023Article
- Functionalizing DNA origami to investigate and interact with biological systems.Nature reviews. Materials · 2023Article
- Genotype-phenotype mapping with polyominos made from DNA origami tiles.Biophysical journal · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bottom-up and top-down approaches to synthetic biology each employ distinct methodologies with the common aim to harness living systems. Here, we realize a strategic merger of both approaches to convert light into proton gradients for the actuation of synthetic cellular systems. We genetically engineer E. coli to overexpress the light-driven inward-directed proton pump xenorhodopsin and encapsulate them in artificial cell-sized compartments. Exposing the compartments to light-dark cycles, we reversibly switch the pH by almost one pH unit and employ these pH gradients to trigger the attachment of DNA structures to the compartment periphery. For this purpose, a DNA triplex motif serves as a nanomechanical switch responding to the pH-trigger of the E. coli. When DNA origami plates are modified with the pH-sensitive triplex motif, the proton-pumping E. coli can trigger their attachment to giant unilamellar lipid vesicles (GUVs) upon illumination. A DNA cortex is formed upon DNA origami polymerization, which sculpts and deforms the GUVs. We foresee that the combination of bottom-up and top down approaches is an efficient way to engineer synthetic cells.
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