Origins of life: first came evolutionary dynamics

Area of Science:

• Origin of life studies
• Prebiotic chemistry
• Molecular evolution

Background:

• The origin of life requires understanding the emergence of biological processes from prebiotic chemistry.
• Key questions involve the primacy of informational (RNA, DNA) versus functional (protein) molecules.
• An alternative perspective focuses on the necessary dynamical processes for life's emergence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose that the evolution process, not a specific molecule type, was the initial requirement for life.
• To investigate the hypothesis that peptide folding processes underpinned early evolution.
• To explore how simple peptides could drive early biological complexity.

Main Methods:

• Computational modeling of short random peptides in aqueous environments.
• Analysis of peptide self-assembly and catalytic activity.
• Simulation of disorder-to-order transitions driving emergent autocatalysis.

Main Results:

• Short random peptides spontaneously collapse in water.
• These collapsed peptides can catalyze the elongation of other peptides.
• This process leads to increased folding stability and emergent autocatalysis.

Conclusions:

• The peptide folding process, a dynamical mechanism, could have preceded specific informational or functional molecules.
• Early biological evolution may have been driven by the self-organizing and catalytic properties of peptides.
• This offers a new perspective on the transition from prebiotic chemistry to early life.