title: Question 7: modelling minimal 'lipid-peptide' cells.
abstract: This contribution is aimed to give support to 'bottom-up' approaches to the minimal or early cell research project. Even if, from this perspective, the most simple living cell still seems very far away, the analysis of less complex, infrabiological cellular systems (some of which could be relatively soon implemented in the lab) probably holds the key, or one of the fundamental keys, to the problem of origins of life. On these lines, we propose a simulation model to study the transition from proto-metabolic 'lipid' cells to 'lipid-peptide' cells, as a critical step in which self-reproducing vesicles could develop into more functionalized supramolecular systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science/Biophysics Research Unit (CSIC-UPV/EHU), University of the Basque Country, Avenida Tolosa 70, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. kepa.ruiz-mirazo@ehu.es
authors.forename: Kepa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Mirazo
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mavelli
mesh_terms: D002477:Cells / Q000737:chemistry; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D010455:Peptides