Entropy 2011, 13(1), 17-37; doi:10.3390/e13010017
Article

Complexity through Recombination: From Chemistry to Biology

Niles Lehman 1,* email, Carolina Díaz Arenas 2 email, Wesley A. White 3 email and Francis J. Schmidt 3 email
1 Department of Chemistry, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207, USA 2 Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, 365 Science and Research Building 2, Houston, TX 77204, USA 3 Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, 117 Schweitzer Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 4 November 2010; in revised form: 14 December 2010 / Accepted: 20 December 2010 / Published: 24 December 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emergence in Chemical Systems)
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Abstract: Recombination is a common event in nature, with examples in physics, chemistry, and biology. This process is characterized by the spontaneous reorganization of structural units to form new entities. Upon reorganization, the complexity of the overall system can change. In particular the components of the system can now experience a new response to externally applied selection criteria, such that the evolutionary trajectory of the system is altered. In this work we explore the link between chemical and biological forms of recombination. We estimate how the net system complexity changes, through analysis of RNA-RNA recombination and by mathematical modeling. Our results underscore the importance of recombination in the origins of life on the Earth and its subsequent evolutionary divergence.
Keywords: recombination; transesterification; RNA; mutational robustness; genotypic landscape; naked genes

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MDPI and ACS Style

Lehman, N.; Arenas, C.D.; White, W.A.; Schmidt, F.J. Complexity through Recombination: From Chemistry to Biology. Entropy 2011, 13, 17-37.

AMA Style

Lehman N, Arenas CD, White WA, Schmidt FJ. Complexity through Recombination: From Chemistry to Biology. Entropy. 2011; 13(1):17-37.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lehman, Niles; Arenas, Carolina Díaz; White, Wesley A.; Schmidt, Francis J. 2011. "Complexity through Recombination: From Chemistry to Biology." Entropy 13, no. 1: 17-37.

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