Membraneless protocell confined by a heat flow

Area of Science:

• Origin of Life Studies
• Biophysics
• Cellular Biophysics

Background:

• Living cells maintain a non-equilibrium state using complex molecular machinery.
• The evolutionary pathways leading to cellular complexity remain largely unknown.
• Understanding early cellular assembly is key to bridging the RNA world to protein-based life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how non-equilibrium physical processes can drive the assembly of cellular components.
• To demonstrate a mechanism for triggering basic cellular functions from assembled biomolecules.
• To provide a framework for understanding the transition from simple molecular systems to proto-cells.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a temperature gradient across a water-filled pore to induce non-equilibrium conditions.
• Observed the self-assembly of core cellular components driven by convection and thermophoresis.
• Monitored the activation of gene expression and molecule recruitment within the assembled system.

Main Results:

• A temperature difference successfully assembled core cellular components within a pore.
• The assembly process activated gene expression, mimicking early cellular machinery.
• The non-equilibrium system attracted and confined food molecules, preventing diffusion and sustaining proto-metabolism.
• This membrane-free approach facilitated the transition from an RNA world to protein-based proto-metabolism.

Conclusions:

• Simple non-equilibrium physical processes, like heat flow, can assemble diverse biomolecules and trigger fundamental cellular functions.
• This mechanism offers a plausible route for the emergence of cell-like structures and metabolism from simpler precursors.
• The findings provide a bridge between the RNA world and the evolution of protein-based cellular life.