Originator dynamics

JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY

卷:256

Article

Manapat, Michael^1,2  Ohtsuki, Hisashi³  Buerger, Reinhard⁴  Nowak, Martin A.^1,5,6 

[1] Harvard Univ, Program Evolutionary Dynam, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

[2] MIT, Dept Math, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

[3] Tokyo Inst Technol, Dept Value & Decis Sci, Tokyo 1528552, Japan

[4] Univ Vienna, Dept Math, A-1099 Vienna, Austria

[5] Harvard Univ, Dept Math, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

[6] Harvard Univ, Dept Organism & Evolutionary Biol, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

关键词: Evolution;    Evolutionary dynamics;    Replication;    Origin of life;    Prelife;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.10.006

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

We study the origin of evolution. Evolution is based on replication, mutation, and selection. But how does evolution begin? When do chemical kinetics turn into evolutionary dynamics? We propose ''prelife and prevolution as the logical precursors of life and evolution. Prelife generates sequences of variable length. Prelife is a generative chemistry that proliferates information and produces diversity without replication. The resulting prevolutionary dynamics have mutation and selection. We propose an equation that allows us to investigate the origin of evolution. In one limit, this originator equation gives the classical selection equation. In the other limit, we obtain prelife. There is competition between life and prelife and there can be selection for or against replication. Simple prelife equations with uniform rate constants have the property that longer sequences are exponentially less frequent than shorter ones. But replication can reverse such an ordering. As the replication rate increases, some longer sequences can become more frequent than shorter ones. Thus, replication can lead to reversals in the equilibrium portraits. We study these reversals, which mark the transition from prelife to life in our model. If the replication potential exceeds a critical value, then life replicates into existence. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free