The reproduction process of Gram-positive protocells.

ABSTRACT: Protocells are believed to have existed on early Earth prior to the emergence of prokaryotes. Due to their rudimentary nature, it is widely accepted that these protocells lacked intracellular mechanisms to regulate their reproduction, thereby relying heavily on environmental conditions. To understand protocell reproduction, we adopted a top-down approach of transforming a Gram-positive bacterium into a lipid-vesicle-like state. In this state, cells lacked intrinsic mechanisms to regulate their morphology or reproduction, resembling theoretical propositions on protocells. Subsequently, we grew these proxy-protocells under the environmental conditions of early Earth to understand their impact on protocell reproduction. Despite the lack of molecular biological coordination, cells in our study

SUBMITTER: Kanaparthi D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10963365 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature