Abstract
A Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD) model is proposed, which provides a rigorous kinetic analysis of simple chemical sets that manifest mutual catalysis. It is shown that catalytic closure can sustain self-replication up to a critical dilution rate, λc, related to the graded extent of mutual catalysis. We explore the behavior of vesicles containing GARD species whose mutual catalysis is governed by a previously published statistical distribution. In the population thus generated, some GARD vesicles display a significantly higher replication efficiency than most others. GARD thus represents a simple model for primordial chemical selection of mutually catalytic sets.
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Segré, D., Lancet*, D., Kedem, O. et al. Graded Autocatalysis Replication Domain (GARD): Kinetic Analysis of Self-Replication in Mutually Catalytic Sets. Orig Life Evol Biosph 28, 501–514 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006583712886
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006583712886