Evolution of self-assembly of probionts

Abstract The process of evolution of organic compounds that led to the emergence of life can be divided into two major stages: chemical and prebiological. Chemical evolution developed at the molecular level obeying chemical laws to reach abiogenic synthesis of polymers that resulted in a spontaneous assembly of phase-separated thermodynamically open systems, or probionts. The appearance of probionts was accompanied by the development of a new law they obeyed, i.e., natural selection, that brought about their new biological properties (the capacity to counteract an increase in entropy, “purposefulness” of structure, and heredity) and further transformation into primitive living systems. The use of chemical models of probionts—insoluble complexes of macromolecules (coacervate drops)—has shown differentiation of individual structures that could have formed the basis for natural selection. Two levels of polymerization of macromolecules have been detected: (1) an oligomer level providing spontaneous “non-specific” self-assembly of phase-separated systems; and (2) a higher level maintaining specific conformation and assuring transition to a specific assembly of structures.