Origem da vida: a emergência espontânea de auto replicação em sistemas de reação química

domingo, janeiro 21, 2018

Spontaneous emergence of self-replication in chemical reaction systems

Source/Fonte: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Explaining the origin of life requires us to explain how self-replication arises. To be specific, how can a self-replicating entity develop spontaneously from a chemical reaction system in which no reaction is self-replicating? Previously proposed mathematical models either supply an explicit framework for a minimal living system or only consider catalyzed reactions, and thus fail to provide a comprehensive theory. We set up a general model for chemical reaction systems that properly accounts for energetics, kinetics and the conservation law. We find that (1) some systems are collectively-catalytic where reactants are transformed into end products with the assistance of intermediates (as in the citric acid cycle), while some others are self-replicating where different parts replicate each other and the system self-replicates as a whole (as in the formose reaction); (2) many alternative chemical universes often contain one or more such systems; (3) it is possible to construct a self-replicating system where the entropy of some parts spontaneously decreases, in a manner similar to that discussed by Schrodinger; (4) complex self-replicating molecules can emerge spontaneously and relatively easily from simple chemical reaction systems through a sequence of transitions. Together these results start to explain the origins of prebiotic evolution.
Comments: Supplementary Information (SI) attached. To view SI, please download and extract the zipped file listed under "Other formats"
Subjects: Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO); Molecular Networks (q-bio.MN)
Cite as: arXiv:1801.05872 [nlin.AO]
(or arXiv:1801.05872v1 [nlin.AO] for this version)

Submission history

From: Yu Liu [view email]
[v1] Wed, 17 Jan 2018 22:02:44 GMT (712kb,A)


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