Hordijk Wim, Steel Mike
Biomathematics Research Centre, The University of Canterbury, Room 623, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J Theor Biol. 2004 Apr 21;227(4):451-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2003.11.020.
The ability of systems of molecular reactions to be simultaneously autocatalylic and sustained by some ambient 'food source' of simple molecules may have been an essential step in the origin of life. In this paper we first describe a polynomial-time algorithm that determines whether any given set of molecules, reactions and catalysations contains a subsystem that is both autocatalytic and able to be sustained from a given subset of the molecules. We also describe some combinatorial properties of this algorithm, and show how it can be used to find irreducible auto-catalysing and sustaining subsystems. In the second part of the paper we use the algorithm to investigate random catalytic networks-in particular, a model described by Kauffman. Using simulations and some analytic techniques we investigate the rate of catalysis that is required for the emergence of autocatalytic and sustaining subsystems.
分子反应系统同时具有自催化能力并由某种简单分子的环境“食物源”维持，这可能是生命起源中的关键一步。在本文中，我们首先描述一种多项式时间算法，该算法可确定任何给定的分子、反应和催化作用集合是否包含一个既自催化又能从给定分子子集中维持的子系统。我们还描述了该算法的一些组合性质，并展示如何使用它来找到不可约的自催化和维持子系统。在本文的第二部分，我们使用该算法研究随机催化网络，特别是考夫曼描述的模型。通过模拟和一些分析技术，我们研究自催化和维持子系统出现所需的催化速率。
