A model of protocell based on the introduction of a semi-permeable membrane in a stochastic model of catalytic reaction networks

Abstract

In this work we introduce some preliminary analyses on the role of a semi-permeable membrane in the dynamics of a stochastic model of catalytic reaction sets (CRSs) of molecules. The results of the simulations performed on ensembles of randomly generated reaction schemes highlight remarkable differences between this very simple protocell description model and the classical case of the continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). In particular, in the CSTR case, distinct simulations with the same reaction scheme reach the same dynamical equilibrium, whereas, in the protocell case, simulations with identical reaction schemes can reach very different dynamical states, despite starting from the same initial conditions.