Evolution before Genes

Dear Colleagues,

Standard theories of Darwinian evolution require or assume that information is encoded in a linear polymer of RNA or DNA - a gene. This has always posed a problem for the origin of life because it implies that genes arose spontaneously before life could begin evolving towards greater complexity. This seems unlikely, because gene-based inheritance systems are chemically complicated and unlikely to arise spontaneously.

If, however, mechanisms for molecular memory exist that are simpler than linear polymers, then we can imagine that life arose with these simpler mechanism, began evolving without genes, and then eventually acquired the more complex genetic inheritance mechanisms. I believe that there are several research groups who might have theoretical work to contribute on non-gene-based inheritance/evolution, most obviously "compositional inheritance" or empirical studies of non-genetic modes of chemical memory, i.e., autocatalysis.

Prof. Dr. David A. Baum
Guest Editor

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