Engineering Light-Responsive Contractile Actomyosin Networks with DNA Nanotechnology

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Abstract

External control and precise manipulation is key for the bottom-up engineering of complex synthetic cells. Minimal actomyosin networks have been reconstituted into synthetic cells; however, their light-triggered symmetry breaking contraction has not yet been demonstrated. Here, light-activated directional contractility of a minimal synthetic actomyosin network inside microfluidic cell-sized compartments is engineered. Actin filaments, heavy-meromyosin-coated beads, and caged ATP are co-encapsulated into water-in-oil droplets. ATP is released upon illumination, leading to a myosin-generated force which results in a motion of the beads along the filaments and hence a contraction of the network. Symmetry breaking is achieved using DNA nanotechnology to establish a link between the network and the compartment periphery. It is demonstrated that the DNA-linked actin filaments contract to one side of the compartment forming actin asters and quantify the dynamics of this process. This work exemplifies that an engineering approach to bottom-up synthetic biology, combining biological and artificial elements, can circumvent challenges related to active multi-component systems and thereby greatly enrich the complexity of synthetic cellular systems.

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Jahnke, K., Weiss, M., Weber, C., Platzman, I., Göpfrich, K., & Spatz, J. P. (2020). Engineering Light-Responsive Contractile Actomyosin Networks with DNA Nanotechnology. Advanced Biosystems, 4(9). https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202000102

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