Motility at the Origin of Life: Its Characterization and a Model
Motility at the Origin of Life: Its Characterization and a Model
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DOI：
10.1162/artl_a_00096
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发表时间：
2014-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Ikegami, Takashi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Froese, Tom;Virgo, Nathaniel;Ikegami, Takashi
由于合成生物学和人工生命的最新进展，生命的起源是目前的研究热点。我们回顾了文献，并认为这两个传统上相互竞争的复制第一和代谢第一的方法合并成一个集成的个性化和进化理论。我们有助于这种更具包容性的方法的成熟，突出一些有问题的假设，仍然导致贫困的生活现象的概念。特别是，我们认为，新的共识迄今未能考虑中间时间尺度的相关性。我们提出，一个适当的生命理论必须考虑到这样一个事实，即所有生物都位于至少四个不同的时间尺度，这通常与新陈代谢，运动，发展和进化有关。按照这种观点，自我运动、适应行为和形态变化可能在生命起源时就已经存在。为了说明这种可能性，我们分析了一个最小的模型，逼真的现象，即不稳定的，个性化的，耗散结构，可以在简单的反应扩散系统中找到。根据我们的分析，我们认为，中间时间尺度上的过程可能已经在前生物系统中运作。它们可能分别促进和限制了化学自我个体化和自然选择进化的快节奏和慢节奏时间尺度上发生的变化。
Due to recent advances in synthetic biology and artificial life, the origin of life is currently a hot topic of research. We review the literature and argue that the two traditionally competing replicator-first and metabolism-first approaches are merging into one integrated theory of individuation and evolution. We contribute to the maturation of this more inclusive approach by highlighting some problematic assumptions that still lead to an impoverished conception of the phenomenon of life. In particular, we argue that the new consensus has so far failed to consider the relevance of intermediate time scales. We propose that an adequate theory of life must account for the fact that all living beings are situated in at least four distinct time scales, which are typically associated with metabolism, motility, development, and evolution. In this view, self-movement, adaptive behavior, and morphological changes could have already been present at the origin of life. In order to illustrate this possibility, we analyze a minimal model of lifelike phenomena, namely, of precarious, individuated, dissipative structures that can be found in simple reaction-diffusion systems. Based on our analysis, we suggest that processes on intermediate time scales could have already been operative in prebiotic systems. They may have facilitated and constrained changes occurring in the faster-and slower-paced time scales of chemical self-individuation and evolution by natural selection, respectively.