Darwinian evolution in a translation-coupled RNA replication system within a cell-like compartment

Area of Science:

• Origin of life studies
• Synthetic biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Evolution is a hallmark of life, distinguishing it from non-living matter.
• Creating self-replicating, evolvable systems from non-living components is a significant scientific challenge.
• Artificial cell models are crucial for understanding life's fundamental processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct an evolvable artificial cell model from non-living biochemical molecules.
• To investigate the potential for Darwinian evolution within a cell-like compartment.
• To demonstrate the development of competitiveness against parasitic elements in a replicating system.

Main Methods:

• Assembly of an artificial cell model using biochemical molecules.
• Incorporation of artificial genomic RNA with self-replicating capabilities via encoded RNA replicase.
• Long-term (600-generation) replication experiments with spontaneous mutation introduction.
• Selection experiments to observe adaptation and dominance of fitter mutants.

Main Results:

• The artificial cell system successfully replicated over 600 generations.
• Spontaneous mutations led to the emergence of highly replicable variants, demonstrating Darwinian evolution.
• Genomic RNA evolved to enhance its interaction with the replicase, increasing its competitiveness.
• The system showed resilience against parasitic RNA elements.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first experimental evidence of Darwinian evolution in a cell-like compartment using replicating systems.
• Artificial cells can evolve and adapt, even in the presence of competing parasitic replicators.
• The findings contribute to understanding the fundamental principles of life's origins and the potential for synthetic life.