Did organs precede organisms in the origin of life?
2024
Did organs precede organisms in the origin of life?
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Baquero Fernando, Bever Gabriel S, de Lorenzo Victor, Fernández-Lanza Val, Briones Carlos
Primary Institution: Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS)
Hypothesis
The hypothesis proposed is that molecular assemblies, endowed with particular structures and compositions, acquire functions which when collected and combined produce proto-organs, organs, and organisms.
Conclusion
The study suggests that functional organs likely evolved before organisms through the interactions of molecular assemblies.
Supporting Evidence
- Evolutionary processes acting on populations of organized molecules preceded the origin of living organisms.
- Natural selection favored the more persistent assemblies, some possibly modifying their own internal structure.
- Interactions between encapsulated proto-organs would have had a much higher probability of evolving into proto-organisms than interactions among simpler molecules.
Takeaway
This study says that before living things, there were groups of molecules that worked together like organs, and these groups eventually led to the first living organisms.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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