AA << identify conditions suitable for concurrent peptide generation and self-assembly, and (..) show how a proliferating peptide-based droplet could be created by using synthesised amino acid thioesters as prebiotic monomers. Oligopeptides generated from the monomers spontaneously formed droplets through liquid–liquid phase separation in water. The droplets underwent a steady growth–division cycle by periodic addition of monomers through autocatalytic self-reproduction. Heterogeneous enrichment of RNA and lipids within droplets enabled RNA to protect the droplet from dissolution by lipids. >>
Matsuo, M., Kurihara, K. Proliferating coacervate droplets as the missing link between chemistry and biology in the origins of life. Nat Commun 12, 5487. doi: 10.1038/ s41467-021-25530-6. Sep 24, 2021.
<< By constructing peptide droplets that proliferate with feeding on novel amino acid derivatives, we have experimentally elucidated the long-standing mystery of how prebiotic ancestors were able to proliferate and survive by selectively concentrating prebiotic chemicals, (..) Rather than an RNA world, we found that 'droplet world' may be a more accurate description, as our results suggest that droplets became evolvable molecular aggregates—one of which became our common ancestor. >> Muneyuki Matsuo.
Answering a century-old question on the origins of life. Hiroshima University. Sep 27, 2021.
Also
keyword 'drop' | 'droplet' in FonT
keyword 'transition' in FonT
keyword 'transizione' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry):
keywords: life, originsoflife, transitions, drop, droplet
