Wagner Nathaniel, Mukherjee Rakesh, Maity Indrajit, Peacock-Lopez Enrique, Ashkenasy Gonen
Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel.
Department of Chemistry, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 02167, USA.
Chemphyschem. 2017 Jul 5;18(13):1842-1850. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201601293. Epub 2017 Mar 21.
Bistability and bifurcation, found in a wide range of biochemical networks, are central to the proper function of living systems. We investigate herein recent model systems that show bistable behavior based on nonenzymatic self-replication reactions. Such models were used before to investigate catalytic growth, chemical logic operations, and additional processes of self-organization leading to complexification. By solving for their steady-state solutions by using various analytical and numerical methods, we analyze how and when these systems yield bistability and bifurcation and discover specific cases and conditions producing bistability. We demonstrate that the onset of bistability requires at least second-order catalysis and results from a mismatch between the various forward and reverse processes. Our findings may have far-reaching implications in understanding early evolutionary processes of complexification, emergence, and potentially the origin of life.
双稳态和分岔现象存在于广泛的生化网络中，是生命系统正常运作的核心。我们在此研究基于非酶促自我复制反应呈现双稳态行为的近期模型系统。此类模型此前曾用于研究催化生长、化学逻辑运算以及导致复杂化的自组织附加过程。通过运用各种解析和数值方法求解其稳态解，我们分析这些系统如何以及何时产生双稳态和分岔，并发现产生双稳态的具体情形和条件。我们证明双稳态的出现至少需要二阶催化作用，且是由各种正向和反向过程之间的不匹配导致的。我们的发现可能对理解复杂化、出现以及潜在的生命起源等早期进化过程具有深远意义。
