Dynamics of the vesicles composed of fatty acids and other amphiphile mixtures: unveiling the role of fatty acids as a m
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dynamics of the vesicles composed of fatty acids and other amphiphile mixtures: unveiling the role of fatty acids as a model protocell membrane Niloy Kundu 1
&
Dipankar Mondal 2,3 & Nilmoni Sarkar 3
Received: 15 April 2020 / Accepted: 3 September 2020 # International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Fundamental research at the interface of chemistry and biology has the potential to shine light on the question of how living cells can be synthesized from inanimate matter thereby providing plausible pathways for the emergence of cellular life. Compartmentalization of different biochemical reactions within a membrane bound water environment is considered an essential first step in any origin of life pathway. It has been suggested that fatty acid-based vesicles can be considered a model protocell having the potential for change via Darwinian evolution. As such, protocell models have the potential to assist in furthering our understanding of the origin of life in the laboratory. Fatty acids, both by themselves and in mixtures with other amphiphiles, can form different self-assembled structures depending on their surroundings. Recent studies of fatty acid-based membranes have suggested likely pathways of protocell growth, division and membrane permeabilisation for the transport of different nutrients, such as nucleotides across the membrane. In this review, different dynamic processes related to the growth and division of the protocell membrane are discussed and possible pathways for transition of the protocell to the modern cell are explored. These areas of research may lead to a better understanding of the synthesis of artificial cell-like entities and thus herald the possibility of creating new form of life distinct from existing biology. Keywords Vesicle . Fatty acids . Phospholipid . Ultrafast dynamics . Protocell
Introduction The term ‘protocell’ refers to the hypothetical precursor of the first biological cell (Dzieciol and Mann 2012). Model protocells are created to study the early evaluation of life (Dzieciol and Mann 2012; Budin and Szostak 2010; Blain and Szostak 2014). The basic characteristics of any biological cell are compartmentalization, replication, transcription and metabolism (Budin and Szostak 2010). Even the simplest forms of life consist of a complex network of genes and
* Niloy Kundu [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Environment Research Group, R&D Department, Tata Steel Ltd, Jamshedpur 831007, India
2
Institute for System Genetics and Department of Cell Biology, New York University, Langone Medical Center, New York 10016, USA
3
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, WB 721302, India
proteins which are confined within a cell membrane. It is generally believed that protocells would have lacked the advanced machinery required for the complex biochemical reactions observed in modern cells. Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that protoc
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