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Giant vesicles: a powerful tool to reconstruct bacterial division assemblies in cell‐like compartments
Author(s) -
Jiménez Mercedes,
Martos Ariadna,
Cabré Elisa J.,
Raso Ana,
Rivas Germán
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12214
Subject(s) - vesicle , biology , membrane , lipid vesicle , division (mathematics) , artificial cell , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , nanotechnology , materials science , biochemistry , arithmetic , mathematics
Summary The use of artificial lipid membranes, structured as giant unilamellar vesicles ( GUVs ), provides the opportunity to investigate membrane‐associated biological processes under defined experimental conditions. Due to their large size, they are uniquely adapted to investigate the properties and organization (in time and space) of macromolecular complexes incorporated in the vesicle interior by imaging and micro‐spectroscopic techniques. Experimental methods to produce giant vesicles and to encapsulate proteins inside them are here reviewed. Previous experimental work to reconstitute elements of the bacterial division machinery in these membrane‐like systems is summarized. Future challenges towards reconstructing minimal divisome assemblies in giant vesicles as cytomimetic containers are discussed.