Integration of Compartmentalization and Metabolism in Systems of Synthetic Replicators

This thesis describes our attempts to develop new self-replicating systems and to install functions that are as lifelike as possible. The introduction (chapter 1) opens with a general introduction to the problem of de novo synthesis of life, intended to familiarize the reader with the underlying concepts. The experimental work is based on two fundamental pillars: The first pillar (chapters 2 and 3) tries to extend the available toolbox of building blocks for self-replicating molecules, partially rooting them in entirely new chemistry. The second pillar (chapters 4 and 5) focuses the on catalytic promiscuity of a class of peptide-based self-replicating molecules and uses their catalytic activity for the construction of compartments. The thesis concludes with a reflection on the results obtained in a broader context (chapter 6) and some future possibilities for the research field