Dynamics of pore synthesis and degradation in protocells

Abstract

Liposomes have found countless applications as microreactors or for studying the evolution of protocells. However, to keep reactions ongoing, exchange with the environment is required. Based on experiments with nanopores expressed by an enclosed gene expression system, we developed a model describing the observed growth dynamics quantitatively. The model depends on one parameter only and allowed estimations of hitherto unknown parameters: the diffusion coefficient of amino acids through a single pore and the initial amino acid concentration. The long-term consequences of different degradation mechanisms are also discussed: we found a surprisingly sharp threshold deciding on the question of survival of the protocell. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.