Work

Spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking in heterocatalytically coupled enantioselective replicators

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Chiral hypercycle replicators (first-order autocatalysis together with mutual cross-catalysis) formed from achiral or racemizing resources may lead to spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SMSB) without the need for additional heterochiral inhibition reactions, such as those of the Frank-like models, which are an obstacle for the emergence of evolutionary selection properties. The results indicate that the chemical models for the emergence of primordial autocatalytic self-reproducing systems, of and by themselves, can also explain naturally the emergence of biological homochirality.

Source: Chemical Science

DOI: 10.1039/c6sc02446g

Authors: Josep M. Ribó, Joaquim Crusats, Zoubir El-Hachemi, Albert Moyano, David Hochberg

Institutions: Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Centro de Astrobiología

Language: English

Topic: Origins and Evolution of Life

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: European Commission, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

Awards: G2355848853, G2465593578, G6726026940