Recent theoretical work suggests that an early step in the origin of life was the emergence of ensembles of chemicals that interacted with one another to collectively propagate: in the presence of…

This is a $2,658,932.59 research grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to the University of Wisconsin System's University of Wisconsin - Madison division, doing business as Research and Sponsored Programs. The grant is focused on using theory and laboratory experiments to better understand the origins and evolution of surface-associated, life-like, interacting molecular ensembles (SLIMEs). Specifically, the research aims to explore the behavior of sets of chemicals associated with mineral grains to determine if they can respond to artificial selection pressures, which could provide insights into the origin of life. The grant does not have a set-aside designation and was awarded on July 27, 2017, with a completion date of July 26, 2022. The University of Wisconsin System is a public university system in Wisconsin that has previously received federal contracts and grants for research and development work.

Recent theoretical work suggests that an early step in the origin of life was the emergence of ensembles of chemicals that interacted with one another to collectively propagate: in the presence of replenishing inputs of chemical precursors (food) and energy, all chemicals in the ensemble are produced by the actions of other chemicals in the ensemble. Furthermore, advances in evolutionary theory suggest that, if these interacting molecular ensembles were spatially structured, for example by being adsorbed onto the surfaces of submerged minerals, they would be likely to evolve adaptively. Specifically, a process called neighborhood selection would tend to enrich for ensembles with progressively improved abilities to colonize new mineral grains. Since the ability to propagate (grow) and evolve adaptively are two key features of life, any ensemble having these properties would be life-like, even if IT were not organized into cell-like compartments and lacked any digital genetic encoding. The proposed research will use theory and laboratory experiment to better understand the origin and evolution of surface-associated, life-like, interacting molecular ensembles (slimes). Guided by artificial ecosystem selection, a method used in microbial ecology, we will explore the behavior of sets of chemicals associated with mineral grains to see if they are capable of responding to an artificial selection pressure.