Piñero Jordi, Solé Ricard
ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Psg. Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Entropy (Basel). 2018 Jan 31;20(2):98. doi: 10.3390/e20020098.
Life evolved on our planet by means of a combination of Darwinian selection and innovations leading to higher levels of complexity. The emergence and selection of replicating entities is a central problem in prebiotic evolution. Theoretical models have shown how populations of different types of replicating entities exclude or coexist with other classes of replicators. Models are typically kinetic, based on standard replicator equations. On the other hand, the presence of thermodynamical constraints for these systems remain an open question. This is largely due to the lack of a general theory of statistical methods for systems far from equilibrium. Nonetheless, a first approach to this problem has been put forward in a series of novel developements falling under the rubric of the extended second law of thermodynamics. The work presented here is twofold: firstly, we review this theoretical framework and provide a brief description of the three fundamental replicator types in prebiotic evolution: parabolic, malthusian and hyperbolic. Secondly, we employ these previously mentioned techinques to explore how replicators are constrained by thermodynamics. Finally, we comment and discuss where further research should be focused on.
生命在我们的星球上通过达尔文选择与导致更高复杂程度的创新相结合的方式进化。复制实体的出现和选择是前生物进化中的核心问题。理论模型已经展示了不同类型复制实体的群体如何排斥其他类别的复制因子或与之共存。模型通常是基于标准复制方程的动力学模型。另一方面，这些系统的热力学约束的存在仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。这主要是由于缺乏针对远离平衡态系统的统计方法的通用理论。尽管如此，在一系列属于热力学第二定律扩展范畴的新进展中，已经提出了针对这个问题的第一种方法。这里展示的工作有两个方面：首先，我们回顾这个理论框架，并简要描述前生物进化中的三种基本复制因子类型：抛物线型、马尔萨斯型和双曲线型。其次，我们运用上述技术来探索复制因子如何受到热力学的约束。最后，我们对进一步研究应聚焦的方向进行评论和讨论。
