ArticleNature chemistry2016
A simple physical mechanism enables homeostasis in primitive cells.
Article in Nature chemistry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
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- RNA World with Inhibitors.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Protocell Effects on RNA Folding, Function, and Evolution.Accounts of chemical research · 2024Article
- Emergent ribozyme behaviors in oxychlorine brines indicate a unique niche for molecular evolution on Mars.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Self-Organization of Iron Sulfide Nanoparticles into Complex Multicompartment Supraparticles.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2023Article
- Coevolution of reproducers and replicators at the origin of life and the conditions for the origin of genomes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Artificial receptor-mediated phototransduction toward protocellular subcompartmentalization and signaling-encoded logic gates.Science advances · 2023Article
- Recent progress in primitive polyester synthesis and membraneless microdroplet assembly.Biophysics and physicobiology · 2023Article
- The origin of RNA interference: Adaptive or neutral evolution?PLoS biology · 2022Article
- Synthetic Cells: From Simple Bio-Inspired Modules to Sophisticated Integrated Systems.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2022Review
- Synthetic Silica Nano-Organelles for Regulation of Cascade Reactions in Multi-Compartmentalized Systems.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2022Article
- Vesicle encapsulation stabilizes intermolecular association and structure formation of functional RNA and DNA.Current biology : CB · 2022Article
- Thermally Driven Membrane Phase Transitions Enable Content Reshuffling in Primitive Cells.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2021Article
- Synthesis of lipid membranes for artificial cells.Nature reviews. Chemistry · 2021Review
- Fast bilayer-micelle fusion mediated by hydrophobic dipeptides.Biophysical journal · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The emergence of homeostatic mechanisms that enable maintenance of an intracellular steady state during growth was critical to the advent of cellular life. Here, we show that concentration-dependent reversible binding of short oligonucleotides, of both specific and random sequence, can modulate ribozyme activity. In both cases, catalysis is inhibited at high concentrations, and dilution activates the ribozyme via inhibitor dissociation, thus maintaining near-constant ribozyme specific activity throughout protocell growth. To mimic the result of RNA synthesis within non-growing protocells, we co-encapsulated high concentrations of ribozyme and oligonucleotides within fatty acid vesicles, and ribozyme activity was inhibited. Following vesicle growth, the resulting internal dilution produced ribozyme activation. This simple physical system enables a primitive homeostatic behaviour: the maintenance of constant ribozyme activity per unit volume during protocell volume changes. We suggest that such systems, wherein short oligonucleotides reversibly inhibit functional RNAs, could have preceded sophisticated modern RNA regulatory mechanisms, such as those involving miRNAs.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.