MUTUAL CATALYSIS IN SETS OF PREBIOTIC ORGANIC-MOLECULES - EVOLUTION THROUGH COMPUTER-SIMULATED CHEMICAL-KINETICS

A thorough outlook on the origin of life needs to delineate a chemical ly rigorous, self-consistent path from highly heterogeneous, random en sembles of relatively simple organic molecules, to an entity that has rudimentary life-like characteristics. Such entity should be endowed w ith a capacity to express variation, undergo mutation-like changes and manifest a simple evolutionary process. For simulating such system we developed the Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD) model fo r explicit kinetic analysis of mutual catalysis in sets of random olig omers derived from energized precursor monomers. The kinetic propertie s of the GARD model are based on vesicle enclosure and expansion. With the additional assumption of spontaneous vesicle splitting, a GARD ev olution scenario is envisaged as a consequence of pure chemical kineti cs. Here we show how the GARD model can serve as a platform for invest igating the dynamics of self-organization mechanisms in molecular evol utionary processes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .