A simple system can explain the growth and self-reproduction of protocells – the ancestors of modern living cells

[תרגום מאת ד”ר משה נחמני]

Pre-cells are vesicles lined with membrane bilayer, similar to the first unicellular. Based on relatively simple mathematical principles, the specific model states that the temperature gap between the inside and outside of the pre-cell as a result of internal chemistry is the main driving force for development and duplication. “Our initial motivation for conducting this study was the desire to identify the major driving forces for cell division,” says the lead researcher. “This problem is important because uncontrolled cell division is a hallmark of cancer. It is also important to understand the origin of life.”

The division of a cell into two subcells requires the synthesis of several biochemical and mechanical processes within the cell-type skeletal structures within the cell. However, throughout human history such complex structures were a kind of luxury that had to appear much later to cause cell division. Therefore, before the advent of genes, RNAs, enzymes, and all the complex organs that exist today, pre-cells had to use a simple division system to preserve their reproductive system even within the framework of autonomous life. .

In a new study, researchers suggest a model based on the idea that early forms of life are actually simple bubbles, which contain a set of defined chemical reactions – the previous version of modern cellular metabolism. The main theory is that molecules containing bilirubin of membranes synthesize within the pre-cell using heat-emitting chemicals. The slow rise in internal temperature causes the molecular molecules to move from the interior to the outer layer of the double-layer. This uneven movement causes the outer part to grow faster than the inner part. This differential growth increases the mean curvature and increases the local pre-cell contraction until the original structure splits into two subdivisions, cutting near the heating area and in the center of the structure. “The scene described is similar to the primitive mechanism of the mitosis process (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), “Leading Researcher Explains.” Given the fact that we do not have archives of accurate data for four billion years, we do not know exactly what these ancient structures are, but they may be vesicles wrapped in a lipid bi-layer that stores chemical reactions. Hot “.

Although purely theoretical, the model can be explored experimentally. For example, fluorescence molecules can be used to measure temperature differences in eukaryotic cells, where the mitochondria are the main source of heat. These measured changes may be related to the mitotic process and the shape of the mitochondrial network. If the model proves to be accurate in the future, this finding will have several important chambers, one of which – the driving force for the origin of life is very simple. The researcher adds: “The second lesson is that temperature differences are important in biochemical processes and that cells can act as thermal machines.”

Knowing about the study

LmThe scientist said

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