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Related Concept Videos

Reproductive Cloning01:27

Reproductive Cloning

Reproductive cloning is the process of producing a genetically identical copy—a clone—of an entire organism. While clones can be produced by splitting an early embryo—similar to what happens naturally with identical twins—cloning of adult animals is usually done by a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
In SCNT, an egg cell is taken from an animal and its nucleus is removed, creating an enucleated egg. Then a somatic cell—any cell that is not a sex...
Reproductive Cloning01:27

Reproductive Cloning

Reproductive cloning is the process of producing a genetically identical copy—a clone—of an entire organism. While clones can be produced by splitting an early embryo—similar to what happens naturally with identical twins—cloning of adult animals is usually done by a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
In SCNT, an egg cell is taken from an animal and its nucleus is removed, creating an enucleated egg. Then a somatic cell—any cell that is not a sex...
Positive Regulator Molecules02:39

Positive Regulator Molecules

Mitotic cell division results in daughter cells that exactly resemble the parent cell. However, errors in the DNA replication or distribution of genetic material may lead to genetic mutations that may be passed down to every new cell formed from the resulting abnormal cell. Propagation of such mutant cells is restricted through checkpoint mechanisms present at different stages of the cell cycle. These checkpoints involve regulator molecules that either promote or demote cell cycle events.
Restarting Stalled Replication Forks02:37

Restarting Stalled Replication Forks

DNA replication is initiated at sites containing predefined DNA sequences known as origins of replication. DNA is unwound at these sites by the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase and other factors such as Cdc45 and the associated GINS complex.The unwound single strands are protected by replication protein A (RPA) until DNA polymerase starts synthesizing DNA at the 5’ end of the strand in the same direction as the replication fork. To prevent the replication fork from falling apart, a...
The Replisome03:01

The Replisome

DNA replication is carried out by a large complex of proteins that act in a coordinated matter to achieve high-fidelity DNA replication. Together this complex is known as the DNA replication machinery or the replisome.
The synthesis of the leading and lagging strands is a highly coordinated process. To explain this, the “Trombone model” was proposed by Bruce Alberts in 1980. The DNA loop formation starts when a primer is synthesized on the parent lagging strand. The loop grows with the...
Negative Regulator Molecules01:23

Negative Regulator Molecules

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Reprogramming Primary Amniotic Fluid and Membrane Cells to Pluripotency in Xeno-free Conditions
09:34

Reprogramming Primary Amniotic Fluid and Membrane Cells to Pluripotency in Xeno-free Conditions

Published on: November 27, 2017

Prelife catalysts and replicators.

Hisashi Ohtsuki1, Martin A Nowak

  • 1PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan. ohtsuki.h.aa@m.titech.ac.jp

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|August 21, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Before life could replicate, a

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Published on: November 27, 2017

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Area of Science:

  • Origin of life studies
  • Theoretical biology
  • Systems chemistry

Background:

  • Life requires replication and evolution.
  • The conditions and mechanisms preceding replication are not fully understood.
  • Investigating pre-replication systems is crucial for understanding the origin of life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the concept of 'prelife' as a generative system.
  • To model prevolutionary dynamics, including mutation and selection before replication.
  • To analyze the selection criteria for catalytic molecules in a pre-replication environment.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling prelife as a binary soup of monomers forming random polymers.
  • Analyzing 'prevolutionary' dynamics with mutation and selection.
  • Calculating selection thresholds for prelife catalysts based on catalytic efficiency and sequence length.
  • Comparing prelife catalysis with a simple model of replication.

Main Results:

  • Prelife systems can generate information and diversity without replication.
  • Catalytic activity in prelife requires efficiency above critical thresholds.
  • Selection thresholds for prelife catalysts depend on sequence length (maintenance: linear, initiation: exponential).
  • Replication exhibits selection thresholds independent of sequence length.

Conclusions:

  • It is challenging to select for long prelife catalysts due to sequence length dependencies.
  • Replication is a highly efficient process compared to prelife catalysis.
  • This study provides a theoretical basis for why replication was favored over other prelife mechanisms.