Spontaneous crowding of ribosomes and proteins inside vesicles: a possible mechanism for the origin of cell metabolism |
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Authors: | Pereira de Souza Tereza Steiniger Frank Stano Pasquale Fahr Alfred Luisi Pier Luigi |
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Affiliation: | 1. Institut für Pharmazie, Friedrich Schiller Universit?t Jena, Lessingstrasse 8, 07743 Jena (Germany);2. Elektronenmikroskopisches Zentrum, Friedrich Schiller Universit?t Jena, Ziegelmühlenweg 1, 07743 Jena (Germany);3. Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146 Rome (Italy) |
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Abstract: | One of the open questions in the origin of life is the spontaneous formation of primitive cell-like compartments from free molecules in solution and membranes. "Metabolism-first" and "replicator-first" theories claim that early catalytic cycles first evolved in solution, and became encapsulated inside lipid vesicles later on. "Compartment-first" theories suggest that metabolism progressively occurred inside compartments. Both views have some weaknesses: the low probability of co-entrapment of several compounds inside the same compartment, and the need to control nutrient uptake and waste release, respectively. By using lipid vesicles as early-cell models, we show that ribosomes, proteins and lipids spontaneously self-organise into cell-like compartments to achieve high internal concentrations, even when starting from dilute solutions. These findings suggest that the assembly of cell-like compartments, despite its low probability of occurrence, is indeed a physically realistic process. The spontaneous achievement of high local concentration might provide a rational account for the origin of primitive cellular metabolism. |
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Keywords: | entrapment/encapsulation liposomes origin of life ribosomes self‐assembly |
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