TY - JOUR T1 - On the Origin of DNA Genomes: Evolution of the Division of Labor between Template and Catalyst in Model Replicator Systems A1 - Takeuchi, Nobuto A1 - Hogeweg, Paulien A1 - Koonin, Eugene V. Y1 - 2011/03/24 N2 - Author Summary At the core of all biological systems lies the division of labor between the storage of genetic information and its phenotypic implementation, in other words, the functional differentiation between templates (DNA) and catalysts (proteins). This fundamental property of life is believed to have been absent at the earliest stages of evolution. The RNA world hypothesis, the most realistic current scenario for the origin of life, posits that, in primordial replicating systems, RNA functioned both as template and as catalyst. How would such division of labor emerge through Darwinian evolution? We investigated the evolution of DNA-like molecules in minimal computational models of RNA replicator systems. Two models were considered: one where molecules are adsorbed on surfaces and another one where molecules are compartmentalized by dividing cellular boundaries. Both models exhibit the evolution of DNA and the ensuing division of labor, revealing the simple governing principle of these processes: DNA releases RNA from the trade-off between template and catalyst that is inevitable in the RNA world and thereby enhances the system's resistance against parasitic templates. Hence, this study offers a novel insight into the evolutionary origin of the division of labor between templates and catalysts in the RNA world. JF - PLOS Computational Biology JA - PLOS Computational Biology VL - 7 IS - 3 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002024 SP - e1002024 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002024 ER -