Mechanistic Insights into the Phase Separation Behavior and Pathway‐Directed Information Exchange in all‐DNA Droplets

Abstract

Liquid-liquid phase separation provides a versatile approach to fabricating cell-mimicking coacervates. Recently, it was discovered that phase separation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) allows for forming protocells and microgels in multicomponent systems. However, the mechanism of the ssDNA phase separation is not comprehensively understood. Here, we present mechanistic insights into the metal-dependent phase separation of ssDNA and leverage this understanding for a straightforward formation of all-DNA droplets. Two phase separation temperatures are found that correspond to the formation of primary nuclei and a growth process. Ca 2 + allows for irreversible, whereas Mg 2 + leads to reversible phase separation. Capitalizing on these differences makes it possible to control the information transfer of one-component DNA droplets and two-component core-shell protocells. This study introduces new kinetic traps of phase separating ssDNA that lead to new phenomena in cell-mimicking systems.

DNA droplets for intelligent and dynamical artificial cells: from the viewpoint of computation and non-equilibrium systems

“…The other DNA droplet is DNA-based coacervates constructed by hybridizing and entangling polymerized long single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) produced using rolling circle amplification (RCA) (figure 4d) [54,59,79,80]. The formation mechanism differs between RCA-based DNA droplets and those based on branched DNA nanostructures.…”

DNA Droplets: Intelligent, Dynamic Fluid

“…[9,10] In the context of artificial cell studies, DNA droplets have emerged as a promising biomaterial for the construction of intelligent artificial cells (Figure 1A). [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] DNA droplets are micrometer-scale liquid-like condensate composed purely, or at least mostly, of DNA, a biomolecule in which genetic information is encoded. Since the first report published in 2018, [14] several groups have explored DNA droplets to demonstrate their fundamental functions, properties, and advantages, which are not parallel to other biomolecules.…”