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Serial Transfer Can Aid The Evolution Of Autocatalytic Sets, Wim Hordijk, Nilesh Vaidya, Niles Lehman
Serial Transfer Can Aid The Evolution Of Autocatalytic Sets, Wim Hordijk, Nilesh Vaidya, Niles Lehman
Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations
Background: The concept of an autocatalytic set of molecules has been posited theoretically and demonstrated empirically with catalytic RNA molecules. For this concept to have significance in a realistic origins-of-life scenario, it will be important to demonstrate the evolvability of such sets. Here, we employ a Gillespie algorithm to improve and expand on previous simulations of an empirical system of self-assembling RNA fragments that has the ability to spontaneously form autocatalytic networks. We specifically examine the role of serial transfer as a plausible means to allow time-dependent changes in set composition, and compare the results to equilibrium, or "batch" scenarios. …