Heterotrophic Model Protocells

Heterotrophic model protocells are easier to build in the laboratory than autotrophic protocells. Advancements have shown that model heterotrophic systems can grow, divide, copy nucleic acids, and compete for resources. The required component molecules of the system are few and simple, in the sense that only a small number of monomeric species are needed. Polymerization and noncovalent forces under prebiotically plausible conditions result in the assembly of a system that begins to exhibit life-like properties. The data suggest that similar processes may have occurred on prebiotic Earth.