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Foraging Dynamics and Entropy Production in a Simulated Proto-Cell
Benjamin De Bari1,2, Dilip K Kondepudi2,3, James A Dixon2,4
1Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 23, 2022
Summary
This study simulates a proto-cell, revealing that the stability of its foraging and metabolic processes influences its entropy production rate. This finding offers insights into biological thermodynamics and the maximum entropy production principle.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Biophysics
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Organisms require energy for life processes and to counteract entropy.
- Dissipative structure theory provides a thermodynamic framework for understanding life, but biological systems are highly complex.
- Simulated models are crucial for studying fundamental principles in complex biological systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the dynamical stability of simulated organism-like foraging behavior and entropy production.
- To explore how coordination between metabolic and behavioral processes affects thermodynamic properties.
- To evaluate the validity of the maximum entropy production principle in a simplified biological model.
Main Methods:
- Development of a simulated 1D chemical dissipative structure functioning as a proto-cell.
- Implementation of resource collection (foraging) and a nonlinear reaction network (metabolism) within the proto-cell.
- Analysis of the correlation between the stability of swimming and chemotaxis dynamics and the rate of entropy production.
Main Results:
- A relationship was observed between dynamical steady states and entropy production.
- The coordination between foraging and metabolic processes was found to tune this relationship.
- The study provides evidence both supporting and contradicting a formulation of the maximum entropy production principle.
Conclusions:
- The interplay between an organism's behavior and its metabolism significantly impacts its thermodynamic efficiency.
- The findings challenge a simplistic application of the maximum entropy production principle to biological systems.
- This research contributes to understanding the fundamental thermodynamic underpinnings of life.
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