Issue 28, 2016

Self-assembly behaviours of primitive and modern lipid membrane solutions: a coarse-grained molecular simulation study

Abstract

Researchers have studied the origin of life and the process of evolution on early Earth for decades. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of biogenesis, because there are many stages in the formation and growth of the first cell. We investigate the self-replication processes of coacervate protocells using computer simulations of single-chain lipid and phospholipid aqueous mixtures. Based on a morphological phase diagram, we develop a model of prebiotic self-replication driven by only environmental factors (i.e. temperature and lipid concentrations) without any external force. Moreover, we investigate high concentration structures during the process of self-replication. These structures have an advantage in fusion and repair of cell membranes. Therefore, lipid hot spots may have existed in primordial soup.

Graphical abstract: Self-assembly behaviours of primitive and modern lipid membrane solutions: a coarse-grained molecular simulation study

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Apr 2016
Accepted
23 Jun 2016
First published
29 Jun 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 19426-19432

Self-assembly behaviours of primitive and modern lipid membrane solutions: a coarse-grained molecular simulation study

N. Arai, Y. Yoshimoto, K. Yasuoka and T. Ebisuzaki, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 19426 DOI: 10.1039/C6CP02380K

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