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From autocatalysis to survival of the fittest in self-reproducing lipid systems

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 7, pages 673–691 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Studying autocatalysis — in which molecules catalyse their own formation — might help to explain the emergence of chemical systems that exhibit traits normally associated with biology. When coupled to other processes, autocatalysis can lead to complex systems-level behaviour in apparently simple mixtures. Lipids are an important class of chemicals that appear simple in isolation, but collectively show complex supramolecular and mesoscale dynamics. Here we discuss autocatalytic lipids as a source of extraordinary behaviour such as primitive chemical evolution, chemotaxis, temporally controllable materials and even as supramolecular catalysts for continuous synthesis. We survey the literature since the first examples of lipid autocatalysis and highlight state-of-the-art synthetic systems that emulate life, displaying behaviour such as metabolism and homeostasis, with special consideration for generating structural complexity and out-of-equilibrium models of life. Autocatalytic lipid systems have enormous potential for building complexity from simple components, and connections between physical effects and molecular reactivity are only just beginning to be discovered.

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Fig. 1: Defining autocatalytic reactions.
Fig. 2: Autopoietic systems reported by Luisi and co-workers based on micelle and vesicle compartments.
Fig. 3: Bond-forming chemistry enables more complex autocatalytic systems.
Fig. 4: Irreversible bond formation in physically autocatalytic systems.
Fig. 5: Thermodynamics and kinetics of autocatalytic reactions.
Fig. 6: Self-reproduction based on alkene metathesis.
Fig. 7: Self-reproducing lipids held out of equilibrium by chemical fuel.
Fig. 8: Selection in systems of self-reproducing disulfide lipids.
Fig. 9: Competition between out-of-equilibrium self-reproducing micelles and vesicles.
Fig. 10: Moving beyond self-reproduction/replication.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to L. Cunningham and A. Engwerda for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript.

Funding

The authors thank the ERC (Consolidator Grant, Autocat, 681491) and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Synthesis for Biology and Medicine (EP/L015838/1) for funding, generously supported by AstraZeneca, Diamond Light Source, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Evotec, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Syngenta, Takeda, UCB and Vertex.

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  1. Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Michael G. Howlett & Stephen P. Fletcher

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  1. Michael G. Howlett
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Howlett, M.G., Fletcher, S.P. From autocatalysis to survival of the fittest in self-reproducing lipid systems. Nat Rev Chem 7, 673–691 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-023-00524-8

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