Scientists built cells that control time – like a clock

Synthetic cells similar to cells have helped scientists explore the mysteries of our biological clock, or circadian rhythm. This process is extremely important to our health, and scientists are now unraveling the secrets of this process at the cellular level.

One of the many biological wonders of life on earth is the almost perfect way our bodies can feel the passage of time.

Known as our biological clockor circadian rhythm, this natural process regulates our Son-vigília cycle And it is highly attuned to the 24 -hour rotation of the earth.

To better understand this mechanism, scientists at the University of California Merced tried cyanobacteria.

The team created structures similar to cells known as vesicles (each with only 2 to 10 dialter micrometers) and carried them with “clock proteins”-protein groups that play an important role in regulating circadian rhythm.

The results of the University of California / Merced researchers were presented in an article recently published in the magazine Nature Communications.

During the study, researchers used cyanobacteria’s “clock proteins” Echeland, Kaib E KEA.

According to the Kaic protein it functioned as the center of the system, while the other proteins moved the process forward and backwards.

The investigators then sealed the mixture of three proteins and a fluorescent marker inside lipid vesicles. These vesicles – essentially artificial cells – varied between two to ten microimeters in diameter.

“This study shows that we can analyze and understand the fundamental principles of biological timing using simplified synthetic systems,” he said Anand Bala Subramaniamresearcher at UC Merced and main author of the study at one from the university.

The artificial cells They shone with a regular 24 -hour rhythm for at least four days. However, when the number of clock proteins was reduced or the vesicles were smaller, The rhythmic shine stopped.

This loss of rhythm followed a replicable pattern.

To explain these findings, the team then built a computational model that revealed that watches become more robust with higher concentrations of “clock proteins” – Allowing thousands of vesicles to maintain time reliably, even when the amounts of protein vary slightly between vesicles.

The model also suggested that another component of the natural circadian system – responsible for turning genes – does not play an important role in maintaining individual clocks, but It is essential to synchronize time of the clock in a population.

Researchers also noticed that some clock proteins tend to adhering to the walls of the vesicleswhich means that a high protein count is required to maintain proper functioning.

“The cyanobacterial circadian clock depends on slow biochemical reactions who are inherently noisyand high numbers of these proteins are needed to mitigate this noise, ”explains Mingxu Fang, professor of microbiology at Ohio State University and a circadian clock specialist.

“This new study introduces a Method for observing reactions of reconstituted clock within adjustable size vesicles that mimic cellular dimensions – and directly test how and why organisms with different cell sizes can adopt distinct timing strategies, ”concludes Fang.