title: Cell evolution and the problem of membrane topology.
abstract: Cells somehow evolved from primordial chemistry and their emergence depended on the co-evolution of the cytoplasm, a genetic system and the cell membrane. It is widely believed that the cytoplasm evolved inside a primordial lipid vesicle, but here I argue that the earliest cytoplasm could have co-evolved to high complexity outside a vesicle on the membrane surface. An invagination of the membrane, aided by an early cytoskeletal system, may have formed the first cells--initially within primordial vesicles.
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. gareth.griffiths@embl-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002477:Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism