Genes Necessary for Cell Division in Modern Bacterial Cells Identified

See time-lapse video showing cell division and growth of three synthetic organisms. The first is JCVI-syn1.0, which resembles wild type Mycoplasma mycoides. The second is an organism with a near minimal cell, JCVI-syn3.0. In the final video the organism shown, JCVI-syn3A, has an additional 19 genes, 7 of which were required to restore normal cell shape and division.