Active coacervate droplets are protocells that grow and resist Ostwald ripening.

ABSTRACT: Active coacervate droplets are liquid condensates coupled to a chemical reaction that turns over their components, keeping the droplets out of equilibrium. This turnover can be used to drive active processes such as growth, and provide an insight into the chemical requirements underlying (proto)cellular behaviour. Moreover, controlled growth is a key requirement to achieve population fitness and survival. Here we present a minimal, nucleotide-based coacervate model for active droplets, and report three key findings that make these droplets into evolvable protocells. First, we show that coacervate droplets form and grow by the fuel-driven synthesis of new coacervate material. Second, we find that these droplets do not undergo Ostwald ripening, which we attribute to the attractive electrosta

SUBMITTER: Nakashima KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8217494 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature