Prebiotic Aggregates (Tissues) Emerging from Reaction-Diffusion: Formation Time, Configuration Entropy and Optimal...

Area of Science:

• Origin of Life Studies
• Theoretical Biology
• Systems Chemistry

Background:

• Understanding proto-tissue formation is crucial for origins of life research.
• Existing models often focus on protocells, neglecting proto-tissue development.
• Key principles include replication, diversity, and heredity for self-organization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the formation of proto-tissues, not protocells, using reactant dynamics.
• To establish a theoretical framework based on replication, diversity, and heredity.
• To define and utilize configuration entropy as a tool for analyzing proto-tissue development.

Main Methods:

• Modeling reactant dynamics within a finite spatial region.
• Characterizing heredity through the number of equivalent patterns conferring viability.
• Analyzing formation time based on structural parameters and ribonucleic acid diffusion coefficients.

Main Results:

• Proto-tissue formation time varies from years to decades, dependent on spatial dimension.
• Configuration entropy is a practical tool for analyzing proto-tissues with equivalent patterns.
• Maximal diversity and weak fluctuations are achieved at a spatial dimension of 2.5.

Conclusions:

• The spatial dimension significantly influences proto-tissue formation dynamics.
• A spatial dimension of 2.5 optimizes proto-tissue diversity and stability.
• This framework provides insights into the emergence of complex biological structures from simple components.