TBI-Preprint 02-10-053
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Titel:
Proto-Organism Kinetics:
Evolutionary Dynamics of Lipid Aggregates with Genes
and Metabolism
Author(s):
Steen Rasmussen,
Liaohai Chen,
Bärbel M.R. Stadler,
Peter F. Stadler
Submitted for publication in:
Orig. Life Evol. Biosph., (2002)
Abstract:
A synthetic proto-organism could be self-assembled by integrating a lipid
proto-container with a proto-metabolic subsystem and a proto-genetic
subsystem. This three-com\-po\-nent system can use energy and nutrients
either by means of redox or photo-chemical reactions, evolve its
proto-genome by means of template directed replication, and ultimately
die. The evolutionary dynamics of the proto-organism depends crucially on
the chemical kinetics of its sub-systems and on their interplay. In this
work the template replication kinetics is investigated and it is found
that the product inhibition inherent in the ligation-like replication
process allows for coexistence of unrelated self-replicating proto-genes
in the lipid surface layer. The combined catalytic effects from the
proto-genes on the metabolic production rates determine the fate of the
strain proto-cell.
Keywords:
Proto-organism, chemical kinetics, replication, origin of life, synthetic
cell
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Last modified: Mon Sep 16 12:49:21 CEST 2002