Fig. 3.

Relevance and potential applications of defining and creating a synthetic cell division machinery. A minimal model system that can recapitulate cell division will be useful to understand the mechanistic basis of the process in cells, in particular by defining the elements that are both necessary and sufficient to achieve division (left side). A minimal cell will need to be capable of dividing to mimic one of the essential characteristics of life (right side, top) functionalities. Once DNA or RNA replication can be successfully reconstituted in a minimal cell, both growth and division would be required to evolve these minimal cells, for example by cycles of error prone duplication of the genetic material followed by selection of a desired functionality (right side, bottom)