Turbulent coherent structures and early life below the Kolmogorov scale.

Publisher: Nature Pub. Group Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101528555 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2041-1723 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20411723 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nat Commun Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [London] : Nature Pub. Group

Algorithms* ; Hydrodynamics* ; Models, Theoretical*; Water/*chemistry; Biological Evolution ; Biophysical Phenomena ; Diffusion ; Motion ; Origin of Life ; Rheology ; Viscosity ; Water/metabolism

Major evolutionary transitions, including the emergence of life, likely occurred in aqueous environments. While the role of water's chemistry in early life is well studied, the effects of water's ability to manipulate population structure are less clear. Population structure is known to be critical, as effective replicators must be insulated from parasites. Here, we propose that turbulent coherent structures, long-lasting flow patterns which trap particles, may serve many of the properties associated with compartments - collocalization, division, and merging - which are commonly thought to play a key role in the origins of life and other evolutionary transitions. We substantiate this idea by simulating multiple proposed metabolisms for early life in a simple model of a turbulent flow, and find that balancing the turnover times of biological particles and coherent structures can indeed enhance the likelihood of these metabolisms overcoming extinction either via parasitism or via a lack of metabolic support. Our results suggest that group selection models may be applicable with fewer physical and chemical constraints than previously thought, and apply much more widely in aqueous environments.

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