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The emergence of competition between model protocells.

ABSTRACT: The transition from independent molecular entities to cellular structures with integrated behaviors was a crucial aspect of the origin of life. We show that simple physical principles can mediate a coordinated interaction between genome and compartment boundary, independent of any genomic functions beyond self-replication. RNA, encapsulated in fatty acid vesicles, exerts an osmotic pressure on the vesicle membrane that drives the uptake of additional membrane components, leading to membrane growth at the expense of relaxed vesicles, which shrink. Thus, more efficient RNA replication could cause faster cell growth, leading to the emergence of Darwinian evolution at the cellular level.

SUBMITTER: Chen IA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4484590 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The emergence of competition between model protocells.

Chen Irene A IA Roberts Richard W RW Szostak Jack W JW

Science (New York, N.Y.) 20040901 5689

The transition from independent molecular entities to cellular structures with integrated behaviors was a crucial aspect of the origin of life. We show that simple physical principles can mediate a coordinated interaction between genome and compartment boundary, independent of any genomic functions beyond self-replication. RNA, encapsulated in fatty acid vesicles, exerts an osmotic pressure on the vesicle membrane that drives the uptake of additional membrane components, leading to membrane grow ...[more]

PMID: 15353806

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