From replicators to reproducers: the first major transitions leading to life - PubMed (original) (raw)
. 1997 Aug 21;187(4):555-71.
doi: 10.1006/jtbi.1996.0389.
Affiliations
- PMID: 9299299
- DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.1996.0389
From replicators to reproducers: the first major transitions leading to life
E Szathmáry et al. J Theor Biol. 1997.
Abstract
A classification of replicators is proposed: life depends on replicators that can exist in an indefinitely large number of forms (unlimited heredity), and whose replication is modular rather than processive. The first template replicators would have increased at a rate less than exponential, because of self-inhibition arising from molecular complementarity. The result would be the survival of a varied population of replicators, rather than the victory of one type. This variability was important, because inaccurate copying meant that individual replicators were small (Eigen's paradox). The origin of cooperation between replicators, and the problem of molecular parasites, are discussed. Today, cooperation depends on cellular compartments, and on the linkage of genes on chromosomes, but we argue that at an earlier stage surface metabolism, in which replicators react only with neighbours, was important. The origin of translation and the genetic code is discussed. The essential step is the binding of amino acids to specific oligonucleotides. We suggest that this binding originated, not as a step in protein synthesis, but in the formation of coenzymes in a metabolically complex RNA world. Existing organisms are not replicators (that is, new individuals do not arise by copying), but reproducers that contain replicators. We outline Griesemer's concept of a reproducer, which brings out the essential role of development in evolution.
Similar articles
- On the appearance of function and organisation in the origin of life.
Blomberg C. Blomberg C. J Theor Biol. 1997 Aug 21;187(4):541-54. doi: 10.1006/jtbi.1996.0388. J Theor Biol. 1997. PMID: 9299298 - Coevolution of reproducers and replicators at the origin of life and the conditions for the origin of genomes.
Babajanyan SG, Wolf YI, Khachatryan A, Allahverdyan A, Lopez-Garcia P, Koonin EV. Babajanyan SG, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Apr 4;120(14):e2301522120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2301522120. Epub 2023 Mar 30. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023. PMID: 36996101 Free PMC article. - [RNA world, a key step in the origin of life: inspection from the view point of biological evolution].
Yanagawa H. Yanagawa H. Tanpakushitsu Kakusan Koso. 1989 Apr;34(4):337-50. Tanpakushitsu Kakusan Koso. 1989. PMID: 2473489 Review. Japanese. No abstract available. - Possible steps to the emergence of life: the [GADV]-protein world hypothesis.
Ikehara K. Ikehara K. Chem Rec. 2005;5(2):107-18. doi: 10.1002/tcr.20037. Chem Rec. 2005. PMID: 15828060 Review.
Cited by
- The origin of replicators and reproducers.
Szathmáry E. Szathmáry E. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Oct 29;361(1474):1761-76. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1912. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006. PMID: 17008217 Free PMC article. - Genome increase as a clock for the origin and evolution of life.
Sharov AA. Sharov AA. Biol Direct. 2006 Jun 12;1:17. doi: 10.1186/1745-6150-1-17. Biol Direct. 2006. PMID: 16768805 Free PMC article. - Evolution of RNA- and DNA-guided antivirus defense systems in prokaryotes and eukaryotes: common ancestry vs convergence.
Koonin EV. Koonin EV. Biol Direct. 2017 Feb 10;12(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s13062-017-0177-2. Biol Direct. 2017. PMID: 28187792 Free PMC article. Review. - Horizontal DNA Transfer Mechanisms of Bacteria as Weapons of Intragenomic Conflict.
Croucher NJ, Mostowy R, Wymant C, Turner P, Bentley SD, Fraser C. Croucher NJ, et al. PLoS Biol. 2016 Mar 2;14(3):e1002394. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002394. eCollection 2016 Mar. PLoS Biol. 2016. PMID: 26934590 Free PMC article. - Emergence and diversification of a host-parasite RNA ecosystem through Darwinian evolution.
Furubayashi T, Ueda K, Bansho Y, Motooka D, Nakamura S, Mizuuchi R, Ichihashi N. Furubayashi T, et al. Elife. 2020 Jul 21;9:e56038. doi: 10.7554/eLife.56038. Elife. 2020. PMID: 32690137 Free PMC article.