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Fig. 11 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 11

From: From molecular to cellular form: modeling the first major transition during the arising of life

Fig. 11

The influence of non-enzymatic nucleotide-synthesis rate (in regard of the cooperation of REP and NSR) on the competition between the protocell subsystem and the naked subsystem. Both subsystems adopt the default parameter values, except PNPP = 1. Only raw materials (nucleotide precursors) were allowed to pass through the interface of the two subsystems. Similar to the case of Fig. 9, naked REP molecules and NSR molecules are inoculated at step 1 × 105, but protocells are inoculated at step 3× 106 (instead of step 6 × 106). We can see that when PNF is high, which means cooperation of REP and NSR is not important, the naked ribozymes in the rocky region achieve superiority; when PNF is low, which means cooperation of REP and NSR is important, the protocells (containing the ribozymes) in the solution region achieve superiority. Notably, the change of PNF may have distinct effects on REP and NSR (e.g., see the different distribution of red, orange and yellow lines between the “REP naked” and “NSR naked” subfigures, and that between the “REP in cell” and “NSR in cell” subfigures), which is not surprising according to the analysis above concerning PNF (Fig. 5)

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