Efficient Heritable Gene Expression Readily Evolves in RNA Pools

Heritable gene expression arises readily in a simple non-genetic system employing known small-RNA biochemistry. Pooled cross-templating ribonucleotides show varied chemical competence on which selection acts, even calculating only minimal effects. Evolution can be quick—computed progress toward encoded gene expression can require only days or weeks for two millimolar, partly activated complementary 5′ ribonucleotides. After only one product selection cycle, early templating can become prevailing pool behavior. Subsequently, a selected templated product is efficiently amplified as a pool ages, frequently accumulated in the same order of concentration as incoming nucleotides. Pools spontaneously favor templating because sporadic nucleotide accumulations increase it—and selection increases templating in pools of all ages. Nonetheless, templated chemical competence appears most easily in young pools. Pool history is critical—pools can perish from periodic hazards (like tides), or alternatively, from hazards roughly constant in time (like rainfall). Selection is greatly enhanced in constant hazard pools—more effective if pools have varied ages. Stronger selection is disproportionately more effective. Selected evolutionary change has an uncomplicated molecular basis—progress from chemical product synthesis to templated, proto-genetic inheritance exploits identity between templating and entropic catalysis. Though discovered by computation, selection of an elevated product of template catalysis is plausible, independent of any chemical or mathematical assumption. Selected chemical variation before genetics (chance utility) therefore inaugurates inheritance, even when hindered by unstable, dilute nucleotides, erratically supplied in undependable quantities. Remarkably, such uncontrolled conditions are not necessarily hostile, but can instead accelerate appearance of primordial gene-like behavior. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00239-017-9800-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.