Discovery of Minimal Cell Lacking Metabolic Genes Challenges Definition of Life

The genome of the discovered cell is extremely small, and it is believed that the majority of its genes were lost during the process of evolution. In May, the research team uploaded this discovery as a preprint to biorxiv.org.

Even in other cells with extremely reduced genomes, metabolic pathways such as amino acid synthesis and vitamin production exist. However, these are entirely absent in this cell, suggesting that it is a parasite completely dependent on a host or a cell population.

Associate Professor Nakayama stated, "Metabolism is one of the primary elements that define life, but this discovery shows that a cell can exist with almost no metabolism of its own." He further pointed out that relationships between parasites and hosts may be hidden within the diversity of microorganisms.

This discovery has pushed the boundaries of knowledge regarding how small and simple cellular life can become.