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Cited by 39Origins and Evolution of LifeCellular Automata and ApplicationsDNA and Biological Computing

Autocatalytic sets and boundaries

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Hordijk, Wim, Steel, Mike·2015·Journal of Systems Chemistry
DOI 10.1186/s13322-014-0006-2PMC PMC4333308
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Abstract

Autopoietic systems, chemotons, and autogens are models that aim to explain (the emergence of) life as a functionally closed and self-sustaining system. An essential element in these models is the notion of a boundary containing, maintaining, and being generated by an internal reaction network. The more general concept of collectively autocatalytic sets, formalized as RAF theory, does not explicitly include this notion of a boundary. Here, we argue that (1) the notion of a boundary can also be incorporated in the formal RAF framework, (2) this provides a mechanism for the emergence of higher-level autocatalytic sets, (3) this satisfies a necessary condition for the evolvability of autocatalytic sets, and (4) this enables the RAF framework to formally represent and analyze (at least in part) the other models. We suggest that RAF theory might thus provide a basis for a unifying formal framework for the further development and study of such models. Graphical abstractThe emergence of an autocatalytic (super)set of autocatalytic (sub)sets.

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  • Such functional boundaries are an essential source of adaptive constraints for biological systems, both internally concentrating system-promoting complexity and limiting system-threatening exchanges with external environments.

    “Such functional boundaries are an essential source of adaptive constraints for biological systems (Rudrauf et al., 2003; Hordijk and Steel, 2015; Lane, 2016), both internally concentrating system-promoting complexity and limiting system-threatening exchanges with external environments.”

    From An Integrated World Modeling Theory (IWMT) of Consciousness (2020) · cites this paper as Hordijk and Steel, 2015

    The Introduction describes self-generated boundaries as essential to several models of self-sustaining chemical systems, and the Conclusions say boundaries keep reacting molecules close together while restricting entry of some molecules. The paper does not characterize the restricted exchanges as system-threatening; its example is the exclusion of some nutrients. It also discusses these roles in models of chemical systems rather than establishing them for biological systems generally. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 26

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hordijk, W., & Steel, M.
Affiliations
University of Canterbury (NZ)
Corresponding author
Hordijk, Wim
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Systems Chemistry
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-02-12
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
1-1
ISSN
1759-2208 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13322-014-0006-2
PMC
PMC4333308
OpenAlex
W2171689666
Cited by
39
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
FWCI
2.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Systems Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Cellular Automata and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA and Biological Computing
Keywords
autocatalytic sets, chemoton, autopoiesis, AutoGen, boundaries, origin of life, reaction networks, evolvability

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