Thermally driven fission of protocells

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel thermally driven mechanism for protocell self-replication, where internal heat causes membrane asymmetry leading to division, offering insights into early cellular life processes.

Contribution

It proposes a new model where internal exothermic reactions induce membrane asymmetry and division in protocells, advancing understanding of primitive cell replication mechanisms.

Findings

Inner temperature rise causes asymmetric membrane growth.

Protocell division results from differential leaflet expansion.

Mechanism suggests a thermally driven pathway for early cell replication.

Abstract

We propose a simple mechanism for the self-replication of protocells. Our main hypothesis is that the amphiphilic molecules composing the membrane bilayer are synthesised inside the protocell through globally exothermic chemical reactions. The slow increase of the inner temperature forces the hottest molecules to move from the inner leaflet to the outer leaflet of the bilayer. This asymmetric translocation process makes the outer leaflet grow faster than the inner leaflet. This differential growth increases the mean curvature and amplifies any local shrinking of the protocell until it splits in two.