Selection of Catalysts through Cellular Reproduction

A series of simulation studies (Ono & Ikegami 1999; 2001) show that a proto cell spontaneously emerges from a chemical soup by acquiring membrane structures. In 2-dimensional space, the emergence of proto cells is followed by the reproduction of cells. A major unsolved problem is the evolution of proto cells; how the proto cells evolve into modern cells with higher functionalities. Here we examine, as the first step, the evolution of catalysts within the proto-cells. Catalytic chemicals have different catalytic activity in generating membrane chemicals. We show that cells with higher activity of membrane production evolve through cellular selection.