Originator dynamics
Open accessAbstract
We study the origin of evolution. Evolution is based on replication, mutation, and selection. But how does evolution begin? When do chemical kinetics turn into evolutionary dynamics? We propose "prelife" and "prevolution" as the logical precursors of life and evolution. Prelife generates sequences of variable length. Prelife is a generative chemistry that proliferates information and produces diversity without replication. The resulting "prevolutionary dynamics" have mutation and selection. We propose an equation that allows us to investigate the origin of evolution. In one limit, this "originator equation" gives the classical selection equation. In the other limit, we obtain "prelife." There is competition between life and prelife and there can be selection for or against replication. Simple prelife equations with uniform rate constants have the property that longer sequences are exponentially less frequent than shorter ones. But replication can reverse such an ordering. As the replication rate increases, some longer sequences can become more frequent than shorter ones. Thus, replication can lead to "reversals" in the equilibrium portraits. We study these reversals, which mark the transition from prelife to life in our model. If the replication potential exceeds a critical value, then life replicates into existence.
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The deterministic simulations are generalizations of a previously described 'prelife' framework.
“The deterministic simulations are generalizations of a previously described ‘prelife’ framework (Supplementary Data) (60–62).”
From Prebiotically plausible mechanisms increase compositional diversity of nucleic acid sequences (2012) · cites this paper as [60]
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Prebiotically plausible mechanisms increase compositional diversity of nucleic acid sequences
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- Authors
- Manapat, M., Ohtsuki, H., Bürger, R., & Nowak, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Tokyo Institute of Technology (JP)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Nowak, Martin A.
- Venue
- Journal of Theoretical Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-02
- Volume
- 256
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 586-595
- ISSN
- 0022-5193 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2674798
- OpenAlex
- W4253854406
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Theoretical Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- John Templeton Foundation
- Vienna Science and Technology Fund
- National Institutes of Health
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM078986)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Keywords
- origin of life, reaction kinetics, sequence length distribution, replication, genetic mutations, selection, generative chemistry, sequence diversity
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Animals, Biological Evolution, Models, Genetic, Mutation, Reproduction, Selection, Genetic
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