All Topics  
Protobiont

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Protobiont
 
 
  Topics Protobiont Topic Home

Protobionts are systems that are considered to have possibly been the precursors to prokaryotic cells. If RNA is trapped inside, it could be replicated and be used or selected for.

A protobiont is an aggregate of abiotically produced
Abiogenesis

In the natural sciences, abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how life on Earth could have arisen from inanimate matter. It should not be confused with evolution, which is the study of how living things change over time....
 organic molecules surrounded by a membrane or a membrane-like structure. Protobionts exhibit some of the properties associated with life, including simple reproduction, metabolism and excitability, as well as the maintenance of an internal chemical environment different from that of their surroundings.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Protobiont'
Start a new discussion about 'Protobiont'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Protobionts are systems that are considered to have possibly been the precursors to prokaryotic cells. If RNA is trapped inside, it could be replicated and be used or selected for.

A protobiont is an aggregate of abiotically produced
Abiogenesis

In the natural sciences, abiogenesis, or origin of life, is the study of how life on Earth could have arisen from inanimate matter. It should not be confused with evolution, which is the study of how living things change over time....
 organic molecules surrounded by a membrane or a membrane-like structure. Protobionts exhibit some of the properties associated with life, including simple reproduction, metabolism and excitability, as well as the maintenance of an internal chemical environment different from that of their surroundings. It has been suggested that they are a key step in the origin of life on earth. Experiments by Sidney W. Fox
Sidney W. Fox

Sidney Walter Fox was a Los Angeles-born biochemistry responsible for unique discoveries in the autosynthesis of protocells....
 and Aleksandr Oparin
Aleksandr Oparin

File:Alexander Oparin.jpgAlexander Ivanovich Oparin was a Soviet Union biochemistry notable for his contributions to the theory of the origin of life, and for his authorship of the book The Origin of Life....
 have demonstrated that they may be formed spontaneously, in conditions similar to the environment thought to exist on an early Earth. These experiments formed liposome
Liposome

A liposome is a tiny bubble , made out of the same material as a biological membrane. Liposomes can be filled with drugs, and used to deliver drugs for cancer and other diseases....
s and microspheres, which have membrane structure similar to the phospholipid bilayer found in cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
s.

See also

  • Prokaryote
    Prokaryote

    The prokaryotes are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus , or any other cell membrane-bound organelles. They differ from the eukaryotes, which have a cell nucleus....
    s
  • Liposome
    Liposome

    A liposome is a tiny bubble , made out of the same material as a biological membrane. Liposomes can be filled with drugs, and used to deliver drugs for cancer and other diseases....
    s


External links