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The minimal autopoietic unit.

Pier Luigi Luisi1

  • 1University of Rome3, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, Rome, 00146, Italy, luisi@mat.ethz.ch.

Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life
|January 15, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Prebiotic life may have existed in cell-like compartments with simplified metabolism, preceding the complex genetic code. This autopoietic system demonstrates self-maintenance, suggesting early life forms were possible before DNA.

Area of Science:

  • Origin of Life studies
  • Biochemistry
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • The genetic code, while enabling protein self-reproduction, is considered too complex for the earliest stages of life.
  • Autopoiesis theory describes living cells as self-maintaining open systems with internally regenerated components within a self-produced boundary.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the possibility of early life forms existing prior to the genetic code.
  • To investigate alternative models for the origin of life based on self-sustaining cellular compartments.

Main Methods:

  • Review of the theory of autopoiesis as an operational description of cellular life.
  • Conceptualization of a primitive cell as an open system with a semipermeable membrane facilitating nutrient import and waste export.

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  • Modeling a simplified metabolic process within the compartment.

    • Main Results:

    • Preliminary experimental data supports the existence of primitive cell-like activity.
    • Autopoiesis provides a framework for understanding self-maintenance without direct reference to the genetic code.
    • A schematic model illustrates nutrient processing and waste elimination in a basic cellular compartment.

    Conclusions:

    • A primitive form of cellular life, characterized by homeostasis and self-maintenance, is conceivable prior to the genetic code.
    • Autopoiesis offers a viable operational description for such early life forms.
    • While experimentally challenging, the concept of pre-genetic code life is supported by theoretical and preliminary data.