An Abiotic Phospholipid Metabolic Network Facilitates Membrane Plasticity in Artificial Cells

The plasticity of living cell membranes relies on complex metabolic networks fueled by cellular energy. Although lipid vesicles have been extensively studied, creating synthetic membranes capable of metabolic cycles remains unrealized. Here we present an abiotic phospholipid metabolic network that generates and maintains dynamic artificial cell membranes. Chemical coupling agents drive the in situ synthesis of transiently stable non-canonical phospholipids, leading to the formation and maintenance of phospholipid membranes. Phospholipid metabolic cycles are capable of driving lipid self-selection and controlling lipid metabolism can induce reversible membrane phase transitions, triggering membrane fusion and lipid mixing. Our work demonstrates that simple lipid metabolic networks can produce artificial cells with lifelike properties, offering insights into mechanisms for engineering synthetic membrane dynamics.