Abstract

Artificial cell-like structures can emerge from minimal molecular components providing a platform for exploring autonomous biological behaviors. In this study, DNA fractions of artificial cells, hereafter termed Gas-DNA crown cells (G-Sph crown cells), were generated from Sphingosine (G-Sph), DNA and adenosine produced by incubation under standard culture condition. SO-DNA, designated as the selforganizing DNA fraction, surprisingly, produced autonomous colony-like structures (Self-developing crown cells; SD- crown cells). SD-crown cells exhibit circular or irregular shapes and show dense internal organization. The properties of SO-DNA varied depending on the DNA source used for the production of DNA crown cells, indicating that DNA origin plays an important role in shaping the self-organizing capacity of the fraction. These findings describe a new research field that is distinct from synthetic autonomous DNA systems in which DNA not only functions as genetic information, but also acts as a driver of autonomous assembly and emergent biological behavior.

Keywords:DNA crown cells; Sphingosine-DNA; G-crown cell seeds; G-Sph crown cells; Gas powder; SODNA; SD-crown cells