On the Spectrum of Prebiotic Chemical Systems. An Information Theory Treatment of Eigen's Paradox

Details On the Spectrum of Prebiotic Chemical Systems. An Information Theory Treatment of Eigen's Paradox On the Spectrum of Prebiotic Chemical Systems. An Information Theory Treatment of Eigen's Paradox

Oct 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008oleb...38..419w&link_type=abstract

Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, Volume 38, Issue 5, pp.419-455

Computer Science

Information Theory

1

Biochemical Evolution, Eigen&Rsquo, S Paradox, Error Catastrophe, Information Theory, Rate Distortion

Scientific paper

We reexamine Eigen’s paradox using the asymptotic limit theorems of information theory. Applying the homology between information source uncertainty and free energy density, under rate distortion constraints, the error catastrophe emerges as the lowest energy state for simple prebiotic systems without error correction. Invoking the usual compartmentalization i.e., ‘vesicles’ and using a Red Queen argument, suggests that information crosstalk between two or more properly interacting structures can initiate a coevolutionary dynamic having at least two quasi-stable states. The first is a low energy realm near the error threshold, and, depending on available energy, the second can approach zero error as a limit. A large deviations argument produces jet-like global transitions which, over sufficient time, may enable shifts between the many quasi-stable modes available to more complicated structures, ‘locking in’ to some subset of the various possible low error rate chemical systems, which become subject to development by selection and chance extinction. Energy availability, according to the model, is thus a powerful necessary condition for low error rate replication, suggesting that some fundamental prebiotic ecosystem transformation entrained reproductive fidelity. This work, then, supports speculation that our RNA/DNA world may indeed be only the chance result of a very broad prebiotic evolutionary phenomenon. Processes in vitro, or ex planeta, might have other outcomes.

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