Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Origins Center, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2021 May 10;60(20):11344-11349. doi: 10.1002/anie.202016196. Epub 2021 Apr 8.
Unravelling how the complexity of living systems can (have) emerge(d) from simple chemical reactions is one of the grand challenges in contemporary science. Evolving systems of self-replicating molecules may hold the key to this question. Here we show that, when a system of replicators is subjected to a regime where replication competes with replicator destruction, simple and fast replicators can give way to more complex and slower ones. The structurally more complex replicator was found to be functionally more proficient in the catalysis of a model reaction. These results show that chemical fueling can maintain systems of replicators out of equilibrium, populating more complex replicators that are otherwise not readily accessible. Such complexification represents an important requirement for achieving open-ended evolution as it should allow improved and ultimately also new functions to emerge.
揭示生命系统的复杂性如何能够从简单的化学反应中产生，是当代科学的重大挑战之一。自我复制分子的进化系统可能是解决这个问题的关键。在这里，我们表明，当一个复制子系统处于复制与复制子破坏竞争的环境中时，简单而快速的复制子可能会让位于更复杂和更慢的复制子。研究发现，结构上更复杂的复制子在催化模型反应方面更高效。这些结果表明，化学燃料可以使复制子系统保持在非平衡状态，从而使更复杂的复制子得以存在，否则这些复制子就不容易出现。这种复杂化代表了实现开放式进化的一个重要要求，因为它应该允许出现改进的甚至是新的功能。
