Unbiased tracking of the progression of mRNA and protein synthesis in bulk and in liposome-confined reactions.

The compartmentalization of a cell-free gene expression system inside a self-assembled lipid vesicle is envisioned as the simplest chassis for the construction of a minimal cell. Although crucial for its realization, quantitative understanding of the dynamics of gene expression in bulk and liposome-confined reactions is scarce. Here, we used two orthogonal fluorescence labeling tools to report the amounts of mRNA and protein produced in a reconstituted biosynthesis system, simultaneously and in real-time.