The hypothesis that prebiotic molecules were transformed into polymers that evolved into proliferating molecular assemblages and eventually a primitive cell was first proposed about 100 years ago. To the best of our knowledge, however, no model of a proliferating prebiotic system has yet been realised because different conditions are required for polymer generation and self-assembly. In this study, we identify conditions suitable for concurrent peptide generation and self-assembly, and we show how a proliferating peptide-based droplet could be created by using synthesised amino acid thioesters as prebiotic monomers. Oligopeptides generated from the monomers spontaneously formed droplets through liquid–liquid phase separation in water. The droplets underwent a steady growth–division cycle by periodic addition of monomers through autocatalytic self-reproduction. Heterogeneous enrichment of RNA and lipids within droplets enabled RNA to protect the droplet from dissolution by lipids. These results provide experimental constructs for origins-of-life research and open up directions in the development of peptide-based materials.

大约 100 年前首次提出了这样的假说：益生元分子转化为聚合物，然后进化为增殖的分子组合，最终形成原始细胞。然而，据我们所知，尚未实现增殖益生元系统的模型，因为聚合物的生成和自组装需要不同的条件。在这项研究中，我们确定了适合同时进行肽生成和自组装的条件，并展示了如何通过使用合成氨基酸硫酯作为益生元单体来创建基于肽的增殖液滴。单体产生的寡肽通过水中的液-液相分离自发形成液滴。通过自催化自我复制定期添加单体，液滴经历了稳定的生长-分裂循环。液滴内 RNA 和脂质的异质富集使 RNA 能够保护液滴不被脂质溶解。这些结果为生命起源研究提供了实验结构，并为基于肽的材料的开发开辟了方向。