Emergence of Function and Selection from Recursively Programmed Polymerisation Reactions in Mineral Environments
Emergence of Function and Selection from Recursively Programmed Polymerisation Reactions in Mineral Environments
复制标题
矿物环境中递归编程聚合反应的函数出现和选择
DOI:
10.1002/ange.201902287
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发表时间:
2019
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
Doran D
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Doran D
Living systems are characterised by an ability to sustain chemical reaction networks far‐from‐equilibrium. It is likely that life first arose through a process of continual disruption of equilibrium states in recursive reaction networks, driven by periodic environmental changes. Herein, we report the emergence of proto‐enzymatic function from recursive polymerisation reactions using amino acids and glycolic acid. Reactions were kept out of equilibrium by diluting products 9:1 in fresh starting solution at the end of each recursive cycle, and the development of complex high molecular weight species is explored using a new metric, the Mass Index, which allows the complexity of the system to be explored as a function of cycle. This process was carried out on a range of different mineral environments. We explored the hypothesis that disrupting equilibrium via recursive cycling imposes a selection pressure and subsequent boundary conditions on products. After just four reaction cycles, product mixtures from recursive reactions exhibit greater catalytic activity and truncation of product space towards higher‐molecular‐weight species compared to non‐recursive controls.