D. Segre et al., MUTUAL CATALYSIS IN SETS OF PREBIOTIC ORGANIC-MOLECULES - EVOLUTION THROUGH COMPUTER-SIMULATED CHEMICAL-KINETICS, Physica. A, 249(1-4), 1998, pp. 558-564
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
.