Working Title: Synthesis and Characterization of Vesicle Compartments to Study the Origins of Heredity 

Abstract:

Research has unveiled cell components, yet their origins and assembly remain mysteries. The gene-centric "RNA World" hypothesis has been pivotal, suggesting life began with self-replicating RNA molecules that evolved to perform all biological functions. This hypothesis highlights the need for a hereditary mechanism, foundational for evolution. However, it's unproven due to the absence of a de novo RNA replicator in laboratory conditions. An alternative, the "metabolism-first" hypothesis, proposes life started from autocatalytic reaction networks, not from singular RNA molecules. These networks, increasing in concentration collectively, might have enabled the first replicators to pass on information through chemical compositions, including the molecular makeup of lipid membranes, suggesting a different form of inheritance before genetic biopolymers became the primary information carriers. This project assesses heredity limits in vesicle-based protocells and aims to engineer molecular systems, focusing on liposome production. We explore how self-assembling lipids might have driven the reproduction of early cellular structures, providing insights into life's origins aligned with the metabolism-first perspective. Our findings, which will include which lipids form the most stable vesicles and an image-recognition algorithm for vesicle analysis, aim to illuminate the early stages of biological evolution and Darwinian principles sans DNA.

Author & Co-Authors:

Myrine Barreiro-Arevalo, Michael Lindstrom, Eloi Camprubi-Casas

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 W. University Dr., Edinburg, Texas, USA 78539
School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 W. University Dr., Edinburg, Texas, USA 78539