arXiv · nlin/0209037
Selection of Catalysts through Cellular Reproduction
Abstract
It has been pointed out that if an autocatalytic cycle produces primitive membrane chemicals, it can compose a self-maintaining proto cell. Moreover, it is known that a proto cell can divide itself spontaneously as it grows. An unsolved problem is how such a catalytic system can evolve in the pre-cellular environment. Here we examine, as the first step, the evolution of catalysts that have different activity in generating membrane chemicals using a Lattice-Gas-like model. We demonstrated that a self-replicating proto-cell emerges from random initial configuration. We also showed that cells with higher activity of membrane production evolve through cellular selection.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
N. Ono, T. Ikegami. 2002-09-19. Selection of Catalysts through Cellular Reproduction. https://arxiv.org/abs/nlin/0209037
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.