@article{d946afda3e5843cfbae0c47ad15c3717,
title = "DNA Length-dependent Division of a Giant Vesicle-based Model Protocell",
abstract = "DNA is an essential carrier of sequence-based genetic information for all life today. However, the chemical and physical properties of DNA may also affect the structure and dynamics of a vesicle-based model protocell in which it is encapsulated. To test these effects, we constructed a polyethylene glycol-grafted giant vesicle system capable of undergoing growth and division. The system incorporates a specific interaction between DNA and lipophilic catalysts as well as components of PCR. We found that vesicle division depends on the length of the encapsulated DNA, and the self-assembly of an internal supramolecular catalyst possibly leads to the direct causal relationship between DNA length and the capacity of the vesicle to self-reproduce. These results may help elucidate how nucleic acids could have functioned in the division of prebiotic protocells.",
author = "Muneyuki Matsuo and Yumi Kan and Kensuke Kurihara and Takehiro Jimbo and Masayuki Imai and Taro Toyota and Yuiko Hirata and Kentaro Suzuki and Tadashi Sugawara",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Numbers JP25103009, JP16K05759 and JP17H04876), {\textquoteleft}Platform for Dynamic Approaches to Living System{\textquoteright} at the University of Tokyo, Kanagawa University Grant for Joint Research, and the Yoshida Scholarship Foundation. The authors thank Prof. Miglena Angelova of Pierre et Marie Curie Universit{\'e}-Paris 6 for her enlightening comments on this work. Mr. Hironori Sugiyama of The University of Tokyo gave helpful comments on the random DNA, and Mr. Ryo Suzuki of Kanagawa University contributed to technical aspects of the solvolysis study. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, The Author(s).",
year = "2019",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1038/s41598-019-43367-4",
language = "English",
volume = "9",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "1",
}