A model for the emergence of coded life

Abstract

In the conceptualization presented here, a possible scenario concerned with the emergence of coded life in nature is inferred from a model that merges computer science concepts with prebiotic chemistry. In this (“digital”) model, sets of strings composed of letters, such that each letter represents a molecular building block, are located within compartments. Some of the sets of strings (together with their reactions) form “autocatalytic sets”. Some of the strings in the autocatalytic sets play the role of catalysts of reactions and others play the role of templates for replication processes. We find several unique sets of strings, comprised of two types of letters (riand pj) representing nucleotides and amino acids (respectively), with some inherent asymmetry in their properties, that prompt the emergence of a code. By identifying such “code prompting” autocatalytic sets, our abstract model suggests novel models for artificial life, and a possible explanation for the emergence and the fixation of the genetic code in life as we know it.