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Chemistry

Small molecular replicators go organic

Nature volume 537, pages 627–628 (2016)Cite this article

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The emergence of complex, dynamic molecular behaviour might have had a role in the origin of life. Such behaviour has now been seen in a reaction network involving small, organic, self-replicating molecules of biological relevance. See Letter p.656

A hallmark of life is its ability to self-replicate at every level, from individual molecules to whole organisms. The first prebiotic molecular replicators were probably RNA-like, but other, non-genetic self-replicators might have had a role in the emergence of life. On page 656, Semenov et al.1 report the self-replication of a small organic molecule in an autocatalytic process — one that produces its own catalysts — and demonstrate that their system can display complex, nonlinear responses to changes in environmental conditions. This is the first experimental example of autocatalysis and complex behaviour in a reaction network that contains only simple organic compounds of biological relevance.

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Figure 1: Emergent behaviour from a reaction network.

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  1. Annette F. Taylor is in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK.,

    Annette F. Taylor

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  1. Annette F. Taylor
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Correspondence to Annette F. Taylor.

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Taylor, A. Small molecular replicators go organic. Nature 537, 627–628 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/537627a

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