4.6 Article

Multispecies autocatalytic RNA reaction networks in coacervates

Journal

COMMUNICATIONS CHEMISTRY
Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages -

Publisher

NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00887-5

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The localization of self-reproducing autocatalytic chemistries within complex primitive phases is crucial for the development of heritable and evolvable chemical systems.
Robust localization of self-reproducing autocatalytic chemistries is a key step in the realization of heritable and evolvable chemical systems. While autocatalytic chemical reaction networks already possess attributes such as heritable self-reproduction and evolvability, localizing functional multispecies networks within complex primitive phases, such as coacervates, has remained unexplored. Here, we show the self-reproduction of the Azoarcus ribozyme system within charge-rich coacervates where catalytic ribozymes are produced by the autocatalytic assembly of constituent smaller RNA fragments. We systematically demonstrate the catalytic assembly of active ribozymes within phase-separated coacervates-both in micron-sized droplets as well as in a coalesced macrophase, underscoring the facility of the complex, charge-rich phase to support these reactions in multiple configurations. By constructing multispecies reaction networks, we show that these newly assembled molecules are active, participating both in self- and cross-catalysis within the coacervates. Finally, due to differential molecular transport, these phase-separated compartments endow robustness to the composition of the collectively autocatalytic networks against external perturbations. Altogether, our results establish the formation of multispecies self-reproducing reaction networks in phase-separated compartments which in turn render transient robustness to the network composition. Self-reproducing autocatalytic chemical reaction networks have the potential to demonstrate heritability and evolvability, however, achieving functional catalytic assembly and reaction networks within a phase-separated environment remains challenging. Here, the authors report multispecies chemical reaction networks of self-producing RNAs within charge-rich coacervates.

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