title: Reproduction of a protocell by replication of a minority molecule in a catalytic reaction network.
abstract: For understanding the origin of life, it is essential to explain the development of a compartmentalized structure, which undergoes growth and division, from a set of chemical reactions. In this study, a hypercycle with two chemicals that mutually catalyze each other is considered in order to show that the reproduction of a protocell with a growth-division process naturally occurs when the replication speed of one chemical is considerably slower than that of the other chemical, and molecules are crowded as a result of replication. It is observed that the protocell divides after a minority molecule is replicated at a slow synthesis rate, and thus, a synchrony between the reproduction of a cell and molecule replication is achieved. The robustness of such protocells against the invasion of parasitic molecules is also demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaneko
mesh_terms: D058045:Artificial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D002384:Catalysis; D002455:Cell Division; D004261:DNA Replication; D008954:Models, Biological; D013997:Time Factors