In vitro assembly, positioning and contraction of a division ring in minimal cells

Constructing a minimal machinery for autonomous self-division of synthetic cells is a major goal of bottom-up synthetic biology. One paradigm has been the E. coli divisome, with the MinCDE protein system guiding assembly and positioning of a presumably contractile ring based on FtsZ and its membrane adaptor FtsA. Here, we demonstrate the full in vitro reconstitution of this machinery consisting of five proteins within lipid vesicles, allowing to observe the following sequence of events in real time: 1) Assembly of an isotropic filamentous FtsZ network, 2) its condensation into a ring-like structure, along with pole-to-pole mode selection of Min oscillations resulting in equatorial positioning, and 3) onset of ring constriction, deforming the vesicles from spherical shape. Besides demonstrating these essential features, we highlight the importance of decisive experimental factors, such as macromolecular crowding. Our results provide an exceptional showcase of the emergence of cell division in a minimal system, and may represent a step towards developing a synthetic cell.