The onset of macroscopically detectable amplification of template concentration for self-replicating RNA

We calculate the strength of fluctuations in concentrations and rates for a self-replicating RNA system catalyzed by the Q beta-replicase at very low initial template concentration (1-10(3) strands/ml). The work is centered upon the derivation of the induction periods which must elapse in order for the rate-correlation size to become comparable to a kinetic barrier determined by the width of the probability distribution about the invariant portion of the concentration space. This surface is identified by a center manifold and corresponds to the subordination of relaxing kinetic modes to the overall growth of the total (free and complexed) template concentration. The results are compared with the experimental data for the onset of a macroscopically detectable amplification of template concentration and a satisfactory agreement is observed.