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Dynamics of the vesicles composed of fatty acids and other amphiphile mixtures: unveiling the role of fatty acids as a model protocell membrane

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Abstract

Fundamental research at the interface of chemistry and biology has the potential to shine light on the question of how living cells can be synthesized from inanimate matter thereby providing plausible pathways for the emergence of cellular life. Compartmentalization of different biochemical reactions within a membrane bound water environment is considered an essential first step in any origin of life pathway. It has been suggested that fatty acid-based vesicles can be considered a model protocell having the potential for change via Darwinian evolution. As such, protocell models have the potential to assist in furthering our understanding of the origin of life in the laboratory. Fatty acids, both by themselves and in mixtures with other amphiphiles, can form different self-assembled structures depending on their surroundings. Recent studies of fatty acid-based membranes have suggested likely pathways of protocell growth, division and membrane permeabilisation for the transport of different nutrients, such as nucleotides across the membrane. In this review, different dynamic processes related to the growth and division of the protocell membrane are discussed and possible pathways for transition of the protocell to the modern cell are explored. These areas of research may lead to a better understanding of the synthesis of artificial cell-like entities and thus herald the possibility of creating new form of life distinct from existing biology.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to IIT Kharagpur for providing the research facilities and the reviewers of Biophysical Reviews for improving the content of the article.

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  1. Environment Research Group, R&D Department, Tata Steel Ltd, Jamshedpur, 831007, India

    Niloy Kundu

  2. Institute for System Genetics and Department of Cell Biology, New York University, Langone Medical Center, New York, 10016, USA

    Dipankar Mondal

  3. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India

    Dipankar Mondal & Nilmoni Sarkar

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  1. Niloy Kundu
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Kundu, N., Mondal, D. & Sarkar, N. Dynamics of the vesicles composed of fatty acids and other amphiphile mixtures: unveiling the role of fatty acids as a model protocell membrane. Biophys Rev 12, 1117–1131 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-020-00753-x

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