Evolution of Protocell-embedded Molecular Computation
Lead partner: ALife Group, Dublin City University
Conclusion
We have presented a series of models of protocell level evolution based on an informazyme molecular inheritance mechanism. This work has deliberately used a very simplified and schematic representation of protocells. This has the advantage that it allows feasible simulation, at the molecular level, of the evolutionary time behaviour of whole populations of protocells. We have demonstrated both the general feasibility and some of the characteristic limitations of using protocell level selection to evolve molecular computation functionality. In particular:- Even with simplistic models of enzymatic recognition, the potential system dynamics of informazyme systems rapidly become very diverse, and are not necessarily compatible with acting as a stable inheritance mechanism at the protocell level.
- Facultative parasitism at the molecular level (class 6 pairwise interaction) does provide at least one mechanism for coupling molecular level replication to a repertoire of heritable but still mutable protocell level variation.
- However, this means that available protocell level mutations may be sharply constrained by the specific nature of the informazyme recognition mechanism. Superficially similar protocell strains may vary widely in their mutation rates and distribution. This can strongly influence evolutionary trajectories, despite imposed selection pressure.