Transient compartmentalization of RNA replicators prevents extinction due to parasites
Open accessAbstract
Beating the curse of the parasite: The evolution of molecular replicators was a critical step in the origin of life. Such replicators would have suffered from faster-replicating “molecular parasites” outcompeting the parental replicator. Compartmentalization of replicators inside protocells would have helped ameliorate the effect of parasites. Matsumura et al. show that transient compartmentalization in nonbiological materials is sufficient to tame the problem of parasite takeover. They analyzed viral replication in a droplet-based microfluidic system, which revealed that as long as there is selection for a functional replicator, the population is not overwhelmed by the faster-replicating parasite genomes. Science , this issue p. 1293
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In vitro realizations prove that transient compartmentalization is effective in maintaining a functional diversity of replicators within vesicles.
“In vitro realizations prove that (transient) compartmentalization is effective in maintaining a functional diversity of replicators within vesicles [40].”
From Ecology and Evolution in the RNA World Dynamics and Stability of Prebiotic Replicator Systems (2017) · cites this paper as [40]
Experimentally, even transient compartmentalization is sufficient to prevent extinction caused by parasites.
“Experimentally, even transient compartmentalization is sufficient to prevent extinction caused by parasites (Bansho et al. 2016;Matsumura et al. 2016).”
From Protocells and RNA Self-Replication (2018) · cites this paper as Matsumura et al. 2016
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- Authors
- Matsumura, S., Kun, Á., Ryckelynck, M., Coldren, F., Szilágyi, A., Jossinet, F., Rick, C., Nghe, P., Szathmáry, E., & Griffiths, A. D.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, Université de Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, BP 70028, 67083 Strasbourg Cedex, France.
- Corresponding author
- Matsumura, Shigeyoshi
- Kun, Ádám
- Szathmáry, Eörs
- Griffiths, Andrew D.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2016-12-09
- Volume
- 354
- Issue
- 6317
- Pages
- 1293-1296
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2560750880
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 10
- FWCI
- 7.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- real.mtak.hu
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Union Seventh Framework Program (225167 (eFlux), 294332 (EvoEvo))
- 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
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Keywords
- origin of life, protocells, population structure, RNA self-replication
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Endoribonucleases, Nucleic Acid Conformation, Q beta Replicase, RNA, Stochastic Processes, Models, Statistical, RNA, Catalytic, Biocatalysis, Artificial Cells, Lipid Droplets
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