Abstract
To date, available are a provisional list of the minimal set of genes required for the functioning and multiplication of a living cell under maximally favorable conditions, methods for the complete chemical synthesis of the minimal genome, and cell-free systems for carrying out all the biochemical reactions comprising the genome replication and expression. The most serious problem that remains on the way to creating an artificial living cell is the need to meet two apparently incompatible requirements: separation of the biochemical reactions from the environment, and exchange between the environment and the cell. A solution to this problem can be provided by molecular colonies (other names: nanocolonies, polonies), which form when RNA or DNA is replicated in a solid medium having pores of a nanometer size. Molecular colonies might also have served as a pre-cellular form of compartmentalization in the RNA World.
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