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dc.contributor.authorManapat, Michael L.
dc.contributor.authorChen, Irene Ann
dc.contributor.authorNowak, Martin A.
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-02T19:23:50Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.identifier.citationManapat Michael L., Irene A. Chen, Martin A. Nowak. 2010. The basic reproductive ratio of life. Journal of Theoretical Biology 263(3): 317-327.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0022-5193en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3777792
dc.description.abstractTemplate-directed polymerization of nucleotides is believed to be a pathway for the replication of genetic material in the earliest cells. We assume that activated monomers are produced by prebiotic chemistry. These monomers can undergo spontaneous polymerization, a system that we call “prelife.” Adding template-directed polymerization changes the equilibrium structure of prelife if the rate constants meet certain criteria. In particular, if the basic reproductive ratio of sequences of a certain length exceeds one, then those sequences can attain high abundance. Furthermore, if many sequences replicate, then the longest sequences can reach high abundance even if the basic reproductive ratios of all sequences are less than one. We call this phenomenon “subcritical life.” Subcritical life suggests that sequences long enough to be ribozymes can become abundant even if replication is relatively inefficient. Our work on the evolution of replication has interesting parallels to infection dynamics. Life (replication) can be seen as an infection of prelife.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipMathematicsen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipOrganismic and Evolutionary Biologyen_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.relation.isversionofdoi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.12.020en_US
dc.relation.hasversionhttp://www.ped.fas.harvard.edu/people/faculty/all_publications.html#2010en_US
dash.licenseOAP
dc.subjectprelifeen_US
dc.subjectreplicationen_US
dc.subjecttemplate-directed synthesisen_US
dc.subjectevolutionary dynamicsen_US
dc.titleThe Basic Reproductive Ratio of Lifeen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.description.versionAccepted Manuscripten_US
dc.relation.journalJournal of Theoretical Biologyen_US
dash.depositing.authorNowak, Martin A.
dc.date.available2010-04-02T19:23:50Z
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.12.020*
dash.contributor.affiliatedChen, Irene
dash.contributor.affiliatedNowak, Martin


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