Towards construction of synthetic ribosomes and a self-replicating system

Abstract

In 2006, the Church Group, using biochemical approaches, hypothesized that ∼ 151 biomolecular components from Escherichia coli and its bacteriophages may be sufficient to enable rapid and accurate self–replication in vitro. However, efforts to construct such a system are precluded by our inability to sufficiently co–regenerate these 151 biomolecular components (or the components of ribosome — the key player of protein translation) and the inability to assemble E. coli ribosomes under conditions that are compatible with in vitro transcription and translation and also the lacking of evidence that functionally active ribosomes can be reconstituted from in vitro synthesized proteins and RNAs.