Final Report Summary - REPLI (Self replication in dynamic molecular networks)
We also showed that replication can be triggered through the addition of signal molecules. Two approaches have been developed. One in which the assembly of the replicator is promoted through the addition of a template molecule that amplifies the production of the replicator by binding to it. This raises the concentration of the replicator above its critical aggregation concentration. Once this concentration is exceeded the replicator can persist even in the absence of the molecule that triggered its emergence. In the second approach the signal molecule does not interact directly with the replicator molecules, but with the building blocks that interfere with replicator formation. In this case the signal molecule causes the amplification of a synthetic receptor that binds it, sequestering the building blocks from the mixture, leaving behind the building blocks needed by the replicator.
Finally, we established the methodology for self-replication under far-from-equilibrium conditions through implementing replication-destruction regimes in two different ways. This methodology will be instrumental in making the next step in replicator chemistry: achieving Darwinian evolution.
The results described above place our work at the forefront of replicator research and systems chemistry and bring us a step closer to the tantalizing goal of synthesizing life de-novo.