Subcompartmentalization and Pseudo-Division of Model Protocells
Journal article, 2021

Membrane enclosed intracellular compartments have been exclusively associated with the eukaryotes, represented by the highly compartmentalized last eukaryotic common ancestor. Recent evidence showing the presence of membranous compartments with specific functions in archaea and bacteria makes it conceivable that the last universal common ancestor and its hypothetical precursor, the protocell, may have exhibited compartmentalization. To the authors' knowledge, there are no experimental studies yet that have tested this hypothesis. They report on an autonomous subcompartmentalization mechanism for protocells which results in the transformation of initial subcompartments to daughter protocells. The process is solely determined by the fundamental materials properties and interfacial events, and does not require biological machinery or chemical energy supply. In the light of the authors' findings, it is proposed that similar events may have taken place under early Earth conditions, leading to the development of compartmentalized cells and potentially, primitive division.

compartments

solid surfaces

wetting

protocells

origin of life

Author

Karolina Spustova

University of Oslo

Elif Senem Koksal

University of Oslo

Alar Ainla

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Irep Gözen

University of Oslo

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Small

1613-6810 (ISSN) 1613-6829 (eISSN)

Vol. 17 2 2005320

Subject Categories

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Other Chemical Engineering

Biophysics

DOI

10.1002/smll.202005320

PubMed

33230918

More information

Latest update

2/24/2021