PACE REPORT

The three major subsystems for artificial cells are replication, compartmentation and metabolism. The microsystem implementation ranges from simple down-scaling and compatibility issues (in the case of an already macroscopically functioning chemical system) through to completely non-chemical realization of the subsystem, with many intermediate steps. The non-chemical realizations are of interest in their own right: not just as stepping stones to chemical artificial cells, but as programmable functional modules. In PACE, we have explored a small fraction of the available options for artificial cell subsystems, emphasizing those that are compatible with the chemistry being pursued in the project, and in some cases extending this chemistry to be compatible with the opportunities provided by the microsystem environment (e.g. redox control by electrochemistry).