Self-oscillating coacervates: an internal chemical clock sustains membraneless protocell populations

Self-oscillating coacervates: an internal chemical clock sustains membraneless protocell populations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Self-oscillating coacervates: an internal chemical clock sustains membraneless protocell populations Haowei Sun, Takafumi Enomoto, Takashi Yasuda, Xiang Li, Aya M. Akimoto, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7590335/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Living systems establish temporal order in molecular processes while operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium. This temporal control is implemented by internal clocks, which are biochemical networks that set the timing of biological processes 1-3 . Clock-regulated mechanisms are essential for organizing the dynamics of living systems in time; however, a strategy to harness internal clocks as programmable regulators in synthetic life-like systems remain to be established 4-6 . Here we show the implementation of an internal chemical clock into membraneless coacervate protocells, thereby bringing protocell populations into long-time existence against coarsening toward thermodynamic equilibrium. The clock periodically enforces time-limited alternation between the emergence, coalescence, and dissolution regimes in coacervate protocells, sustaining a periodic steady state far from equilibrium. When the clock is exhausted, regulation fails and uncontrolled coarsening resumes, underscoring the causal role of time-programmed control. Moreover, tuning the clock period shifts the average size of the coacervate protocells, indicating kinetic control by the clock’s period. We anticipate that this work will pave the way for future clock-regulated functions in artificial protocells. Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf videoS1.mp4 videoS2.mp4 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7590335","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":513968043,"identity":"9d40503a-b647-418a-b7db-147112e4821d","order_by":0,"name":"Haowei Sun","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Tokyo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haowei","middleName":"","lastName":"Sun","suffix":""},{"id":513968044,"identity":"4dd6e4b5-e15f-44ed-b7db-ad59f02db246","order_by":1,"name":"Takafumi Enomoto","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5137-6129","institution":"The University of Tokyo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Takafumi","middleName":"","lastName":"Enomoto","suffix":""},{"id":513968045,"identity":"1803de14-0576-4f28-b7e9-b078a243697f","order_by":2,"name":"Takashi Yasuda","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7310-2492","institution":"Hokkaido University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Takashi","middleName":"","lastName":"Yasuda","suffix":""},{"id":513968046,"identity":"2d21db60-8139-4d8d-b775-974ea9340d49","order_by":3,"name":"Xiang Li","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6194-3676","institution":"Hokkaido University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":513968047,"identity":"55468a36-4307-40cf-96b2-19fe0cdaefc9","order_by":4,"name":"Aya M. 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