Facilitated diffusion as a method for selective accumulation of materials from the primordial oceans by a lipid-vesicle protocell.
A model is proposed for the selective accumulation of amino acids, sugars, nucleotides, cations and protons from the primordial oceans into a lipid vesicle type of protocell. The model is built on facilitated diffusion using simple, primordial, lipid-soluble carriers. The advantages a lipid vesicle protocell would have had over the other potential types of protocells are discussed.
D000596:Amino Acids; D001692:Biological Transport; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002412:Cations; D004058:Diffusion; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D009711:Nucleotides; D012623:Seawater
D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002412:Cations; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D009711:Nucleotides