Model consideration for the origin of life

Abstract

In an attempt to understand the origin of living systems we encounter the following problems: How can we conceive the origin of the first self-reproducing forms, and by means of what stimuli could a constant increase in the complexity of such forms commence? How can a translation apparatus for genetic information develop? One cannot that such an apparatus for the synthesis of enzymes can function alone without the interference of enzymes themselves, which, however, could only become available after the construction of the apparatus itself. What stimulus mechanism is conceivable that leads to the division of the genetic apparatus into a replication system, and an enzyme-synthesis system? The main problem therefore, is not the search for basic theoretical concepts. It is not a question which can be answered by means of specific experiments. One should rather explore the principal possibilities of how molecules combine to produce more and more complicated functional units. We look for the fundamental structural changes in the organizational systems and the driving forces initiating these developments. Questions concerning the detailed chemical realization are of secondary importance. In trying to solve the puzzle of how the genetic apparatus is gradually built up as complex aggregates of molecules, we consider a consistent causal chain of simple and transparent physicochemical model steps. The driving force for the self-organization of matter is seen in a specific environmental structure to be found on the surface of the earth. By this structure, which is periodic in time and heterogeneous in space, evolution is initiated and driven towards a continuously increasing degree of complexity correlated with a continuous expansion of the accessible living space. This process is a necessity under proper environmental conditions. Accidental events initiate each step but do not determine the general course of evolution which is determined by the selection mechanism.