Moreover, RNA molecules were first incubated in water-in-oil droplets at 37°C for 5 hours, then the solution was diluted to one-fifth of its original concentration with RNA-free nutrient droplets and vigorously agitated. Mutations occur when this process is repeated multiple times.
Compared with previous empirical studies, the results of the new study are novel because the team used a unique RNA replication system that can undergo a Darwinian-style evolutionary process – mutation and natural selection based on a continuous change self-perpetuating process. This process leads to the emergence of different traits, and those that are adapted to the environment persist.
In evolutionary biology, the “principle of competitive exclusion” states that if more than one species is competing for the same resources, they cannot coexist. This means that molecules must establish a way to alternately utilize different resources for sustainable diversification. They’re just molecules, so the research team wondered whether non-living chemical “species” might have developed this innovative way spontaneously.
So, what’s next? Compared with biological organisms, the molecular replication systems now studied have a remarkable simplicity, enabling the study of evolutionary phenomena with unprecedented resolution. The complex evolution seen in the experiments is just the beginning. In the process of the emergence of living systems, more events will occur.
Of course, many questions remain to be answered, but this study provides new empirically-based insights that can help us further our understanding of the possible evolutionary paths of early RNA replicators on proto-Earth. For thousands of years, humans have been trying to answer the ultimate question – what is the origin of life? These results may hold clues to solving the problem.