SpudCell Completes a Full Synthetic Cell Cycle With a 90,000-base-pair Genome

BySarah Fraser
spudcell synthetic cell: Microscopy-style image of a synthetic cell with visible membrane and internal molecular structures.

SpudCell is a bottom-up synthetic cell that can feed, grow, replicate a roughly 90,000-base-pair genome, divide, and pass through multiple generations, built entirely from defined non-living components rather than by modifying an existing living cell. The University of Minnesota team says that makes it the first synthetic cell with a “complete cell cycle”, and the core technical report lays out the system in a preprint manuscript, not yet a peer-reviewed paper.

That is why scientists are treating SpudCell as a real milestone rather than just another membrane bubble with interesting chemistry. Earlier synthetic-biology projects either simplified natural cells or reproduced only part of cellular behavior; SpudCell combines genome replication, growth, division, and selection across generations in one chemically defined platform, according to the Biotic project overview and independent coverage from STAT.

SpudCell’s complete cell cycle from non-living components

SpudCell starts as a lipid vesicle loaded with a reconstructed molecular toolkit for gene expression and DNA handling. The researchers used the PURE system, a purified, cell-free protein synthesis setup, along with ribosomes, enzymes, and DNA, so the cell-like system is assembled from parts instead of descended from a natural organism.

That distinction matters. Craig Venter’s famous synthetic-cell work put a synthetic genome into an existing bacterial cell, while SpudCell is presented as a fully bottom-up build from defined components, as ScienceAlert and The Guardian both note.

The team reports that SpudCells can be externally fed with nutrient-bearing liposomes, synthesize proteins, enlarge their membranes, copy their DNA, and then divide into daughter cells that can repeat the cycle over multiple generations. In practice, that is the hard part synthetic-cell researchers have been chasing for years: not one trick, but several coordinated ones in sequence.

“The complete life cycle really marks a new dawn in our ability to engineer living systems from the bottom up,” University of Minnesota biomedical engineering professor John Glass said in the university release.

The 90-kilobase genome and feeder-liposome design

The genome is one reason SpudCell stands out. The project overview describes a roughly 90 kb synthetic genome, much larger than the tiny genetic payloads common in simpler protocell experiments, and says that genome encodes the machinery needed for its cyclic behavior. The source material is inconsistent on the DNA count: some summaries describe seven plasmids, while the Biotic overview also refers to nine DNA molecules while describing seven plasmids.

SpudCell does not forage, metabolize, or build everything itself. Instead, it is fed by nutrient-carrying feeder liposomes that fuse with or supply the synthetic cell, delivering molecular ingredients needed for continued growth and genome activity, as described in the project overview and the manuscript. The setup is less “free-living organism” than a carefully tended biochemical factory in a soap-bubble shell.

It also still depends on biology’s legacy parts. SpudCell does not make its own ribosomes; it uses ribosomes originally purified from E. coli, which means one of life’s core manufacturing machines remains imported rather than self-produced.



The reported generational data are promising, but not clean enough to call the problem solved. After five generations, about 30% of daughter cells retained the full genome set, which is enough to demonstrate inheritance and selection but also a clear sign that stable propagation is still lossy.

Why scientists see a platform for synthetic-cell engineering

The engineering significance is not just that SpudCell looks cell-like under a microscope. It is that the system appears to support selection across generations, meaning researchers can vary components, run cycles, and watch better-performing variants persist, according to the Biotic overview and NPR’s report. That turns synthetic cells from demonstration objects into something closer to an evolvable platform.

Independent coverage has been blunt about the ambition. STAT reports that researchers in the field see it as a major step toward synthetic life, while also stressing that whether it counts as “alive” depends on which definition of life you use. The Guardian similarly frames the result as a step closer to synthetic life, not a settled crossing of that line.

That debate is real, but it does not erase the technical result. SpudCell is cell-like rather than unambiguously alive: it can run a coordinated growth-replication-division cycle, yet it still relies on externally supplied liposomes, added molecular components, and ribosomes purified from natural cells, as the researchers themselves note.

The practical pitch is more immediate than the philosophy. A chemically defined synthetic cell could let researchers test stripped-down biological rules, design custom biochemical systems, and build programmable cellular chassis with fewer unknowns than ordinary living cells, according to the manuscript. In engineering terms, that is the appeal: less inherited mess, more controllable machinery.

The next milestone is straightforward. The current evidence is in a preprint manuscript, and the field will now be watching for peer review, replication by other labs, and improvements in genome retention and autonomy.

Key Takeaways

Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SpudCell?

SpudCell is a synthetic cell assembled from defined non-living components, including lipids, DNA, enzymes, and purified translation machinery. Unlike engineered bacteria, it is built bottom-up rather than made by modifying an already living cell.

Is SpudCell alive?

That is not settled. SpudCell performs several life-like functions, growth, genome replication, division, and inheritance, but it still depends on externally supplied nutrients and ribosomes purified from natural cells, which is why scientists disagree over whether it qualifies as alive.

How is SpudCell different from earlier synthetic cells?

The key difference is the combined cycle. Earlier systems often demonstrated one or two capabilities, while SpudCell is reported to link feeding, growth, genome replication, division, and selection across multiple generations in one chemically defined system.

How big is the SpudCell genome?

The researchers describe it as a roughly 90-kilobase genome. The exact count of DNA elements is described inconsistently across sources, with references to seven plasmids and to nine DNA molecules in the project materials.

References

Last reviewed: 2026-07