Universal motifs and the diversity of autocatalytic systems

TLDR

Autocatalysis, the ability of chemical systems to produce more of themselves, is a hallmark of living systems underlying metabolism, reproduction, and evolution. The study aims to develop a unified theory of autocatalysis based on stoichiometry. The theory employs a stoichiometric framework to model autocatalytic networks. The stoichiometric analysis identifies five core motifs of autocatalytic networks, shows that internal catalytic cycles promote growth, reveals that diverse networks can arise in multiple compartments, and demonstrates that autocatalysis is more widespread and complex than previously recognized.

Abstract

Significance Autocatalysis, the ability of chemical systems to make more of themselves, is a hallmark of living systems, as it underlies metabolism, reproduction, and evolution. Here, we present a unified theory of autocatalysis based on stoichiometry. This allows us to identify essential motifs of autocatalytic networks, namely, autocatalytic cores, which come in five categories. In these networks, internal catalytic cycles are found to favor growth. The stoichiometry approach furthermore reveals that diverse autocatalytic networks can be formed with multiple compartments. Overall, these findings suggest that autocatalysis is a richer and more abundant phenomenon than previously thought.