If the first cells were simple vesicles, how did nutrients cross their membranes without help from transport proteins? A model of a primitive cell suggests that early membranes were surprisingly permeable.
References
Mansy, S. S. et al. Nature 454, 122–125 (2008).
Apel, C. L., Deamer, D. W. & Mautner, M. N. Biochim. Biophys. Acta Biomembranes 1559, 1–9 (2002).
Monnard, P.-A., Apel, C. L., Kanavarioti, A. & Deamer, D. W. Astrobiology 2, 139–152 (2002).
Walde, P., Goto, A., Monnard, P.-A., Wessicken, M. & Luisi, P. L. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 116, 7541–7547 (1994).
Noireaux, V. & Libchaber, A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 17669–17674 (2004).
Ishikawa, K., Sato, K., Shima, Y., Urabe, I. & Yomo, T. FEBS Lett. 576, 387–390 (2004).
Monnard, P.-A., Luptak, A. & Deamer, D. W. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 362, 1741–1750 (2007).
Szostak, J. W., Bartel, D. P. & Luisi, P. L. Nature 409, 387–390 (2001).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deamer, D. How leaky were primitive cells?. Nature 454, 37–38 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454037a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/454037a
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Pre-Darwinian Evolution Before LUCA
Biological Theory (2020)
-
Permeability-driven selection in a semi-empirical protocell model: the roots of prebiotic systems evolution
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
Proton gradients and pH oscillations emerge from heat flow at the microscale
Nature Communications (2017)
-
Formation of oligopeptides in high yield under simple programmable conditions
Nature Communications (2015)
-
The origins of cellular life
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (2014)