The emergence of competition between model protocells.

Szostak Synthesis of Model Protocells Reconstructing the Emergence of Cellular Life through the

Competition between model protocells driven by an encapsulated catalyst.

The advent of Darwinian evolution required the emergence of molecular mechanisms for the heritable variation of fitness. One model for such a system involves competing protocell populations, each consisting of a replicating genetic polymer within a replicating vesicle. In this model, each genetic polymer imparts a selective advantage to its protocell by, for example, coding for a catalyst that ...

Solvable model for template coexistence in protocells

Compartmentalization of self-replicating molecules (templates) in protocells is a necessary step towards the evolution of modern cells. However, coexistence between distinct template types inside a protocell can be achieved only if there is a selective pressure favoring protocells with a mixed template composition. Here we study analytically a group selection model for the coexistence between t...

A Simple Peptide Spontaneously Anchors Rna to Giant Lipidic Vesicles

In order to understand the transition from chemical evolution to Darwinian evolution, we are attempting to synthesize extremely simple artificial cells. I will present recent experimental progress towards the development of one of the key components of such a protocell, namely a self-replicating nucleic acid genome. INTRODUCTION, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION The earliest living cells must...

Protocells: At the Interface of Life and Non-Life

The cellular form, manifesting as a membrane-bounded system (comprising various functional molecules), is essential to life. The ultimate reason for this is that, typically, one functional molecule can only adopt one "correct" structure to perform one special function (e.g., an enzyme), and thus molecular cooperation is inevitable. While this is particularly true for advanced life with complex ...