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Cited by 12Origins and Evolution of LifeEvolution and Genetic DynamicsRNA and protein synthesis mechanisms

Simulating the origins of life: The dual role of RNA replicases as an obstacle to evolution

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Szostak, Natalia, Synak, Jaroslaw, Borowski, Marcin, Wasik, Szymon, Blazewicz, Jacek·2017·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0180827PMC PMC5507279
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Abstract

Despite years of study, it is still not clear how life emerged from inanimate matter and evolved into the complex forms that we observe today. One of the most recognized hypotheses for the origins of life, the RNA World hypothesis, assumes that life was sparked by prebiotic replicating RNA chains. In this paper, we address the problems caused by the interplay between hypothetical prebiotic RNA replicases and RNA parasitic species. We consider the coexistence of parasite RNAs and RNA replicases as well as the impact of parasites on the further evolution of replicases. For these purposes, we used multi-agent modeling techniques that allow for realistic assumptions regarding the movement and spatial interactions of modeled species. The general model used in this study is based on work by Takeuchi and Hogeweg. Our results confirm that the coexistence of parasite RNAs and replicases is possible in a spatially extended system, even if we take into consideration more realistic assumptions than Takeuchi and Hogeweg. However, we also showed that the presence of trade-off that takes into the account an RNA folding process could still pose a serious obstacle to the evolution of replication. We conclude that this might be a cause for one of the greatest transitions in life that took place early in evolution-the separation of the function between DNA templates and protein enzymes, with a central role for RNA species.

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  • Szostak et al.'s model predicts parasite invasion in a replicase ribozyme population without parasites destroying the system.

    “This result is in line with that of Szostak et al. [112], whose model predicts parasite invasion in a replicase ribozyme population but without the parasites destroying the system.”

    From Ecology and Evolution in the RNA World Dynamics and Stability of Prebiotic Replicator Systems (2017) · cites this paper as Szostak et al. [112]

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Cited by

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Authors
Szostak, N., Synak, J., Borowski, M., Wasik, S., & Blazewicz, J.
Affiliations
Poznań University of Technology (PL)
Corresponding author
  • Synak, Jaroslaw
  • Borowski, Marcin
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2017-07-10
Volume
12
Issue
7
Pages
e0180827
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0180827
PMC
PMC5507279
OpenAlex
W2735322110
Cited by
12
References
7
Citations by year
2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
FWCI
1.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Politechnika Poznańska (09/91/DSPB/0600)
  • Narodowe Centrum Nauki (2016/20/T/ST6/00395)
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, RNA world, RNA replicase, multi-agent simulation, spatial interaction, RNA folding, trade-offs, prebiotic evolution
MeSH terms
Origin of Life, Biological Evolution, RNA, RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase

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