Parasitic behavior in competing chemically fueled reaction cycles |
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Authors: | Patrick S Schwarz Sudarshana Laha Jacqueline Janssen Tabea Huss Job Boekhoven Christoph A Weber |
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Institution: | Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching Germany.; Biological Physics, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187 Dresden Germany.; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden Germany ; Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 2a, 85748 Garching Germany |
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Abstract: | Non-equilibrium, fuel-driven reaction cycles serve as model systems of the intricate reaction networks of life. Rich and dynamic behavior is observed when reaction cycles regulate assembly processes, such as phase separation. However, it remains unclear how the interplay between multiple reaction cycles affects the success of emergent assemblies. To tackle this question, we created a library of molecules that compete for a common fuel that transiently activates products. Often, the competition for fuel implies that a competitor decreases the lifetime of these products. However, in cases where the transient competitor product can phase-separate, such a competitor can increase the survival time of one product. Moreover, in the presence of oscillatory fueling, the same mechanism reduces variations in the product concentration while the concentration variations of the competitor product are enhanced. Like a parasite, the product benefits from the protection of the host against deactivation and increases its robustness against fuel variations at the expense of the robustness of the host. Such a parasitic behavior in multiple fuel-driven reaction cycles represents a lifelike trait, paving the way for the bottom-up design of synthetic life.Non-equilibrium, fuel-driven reaction cycles serve as model systems of the intricate reaction networks of life. |
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