title: Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD): kinetic analysis of self-replication in mutually catalytic sets.
abstract: A Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD) model is proposed, which provides a rigorous kinetic analysis of simple chemical sets that manifest mutual catalysis. It is shown that catalytic closure can sustain self replication up to a critical dilution rate, lambda c, related to the graded extent of mutual catalysis. We explore the behavior of vesicles containing GARD species whose mutual catalysis is governed by a previously published statistical distribution. In the population thus generated, some GARD vesicles display a significantly higher replication efficiency than most others. GARD thus represents a simple model for primordial chemical selection of mutually catalytic sets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Membrane Research Biophysics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Segre
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lancet
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kedem
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pilpel
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D019020:Directed Molecular Evolution; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D000069497:Origin of Life; D013698:Templates, Genetic