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Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Chemical Dimerization-Induced Protein Condensates on Telomeres
Published on: April 12, 2021
Phase separation induced by active polymerization makes protocells robust against environmental changes
Xi Chen1, Jens-Uwe Sommer1,2,3, Tyler S Harmon1
1Division Theory of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, Dresden 01069, Germany.
None:
The origin of life remains a scientific mystery, particularly the emergence of protocells. One hypothesis proposes that protocells arose as droplets formed via liquid-liquid phase separation of polymers. The work on this hypothesis leaves open how protocells survived in fluctuating or cyclic environments. We consider a model system incorporating both spontaneous polymerization and droplet-facilitated fuel-driven polymerization. We show that the resulting droplets display a stationary hysteresis with respect to available fuel. Droplets can remain stable even after the fuel-driven polymerization reactions significantly diminish, suggesting a potential mechanism for protocell formation and resilience to environmental fluctuations. This robustness would have enabled protocells to endure early environmental challenges, such as energy shortages in a famine.
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