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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
Transition to diversification by competition for multiple resources in catalytic reaction networks
Atsushi Kamimura1, Kunihiko Kaneko1
1Department of Basic Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1, Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153-8902 Tokyo Japan.
Background:
All life, including cells and artificial protocells, must integrate diverse molecules into a single unit in order to reproduce. Despite expected pressure to evolve a simple system with the fastest replication speed, the mechanism by which the use of a great variety of components, and the coexistence of diverse cell-types with different compositions are achieved is as yet unknown.
Results:
Here we show that coexistence of such diverse compositions and cell-types is the result of competitions for a variety of limited resources. We find that a transition to diversity occurs both in chemical compositions and in protocell types, as the resource supply is decreased, when the maximum inflow and consumption of resources are balanced.
Conclusions:
Our results indicate that a simple physical principle of competition for a variety of limiting resources can be a strong driving force to diversify intracellular dynamics of a catalytic reaction network and to develop diverse protocell types in a primitive stage of life.
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