Growth and division of active droplets provides a model for protocells

Nature Physics | Article Print Share/bookmark Growth and division of active droplets provides a model for protocells David Zwicker, Rabea Seyboldt, Christoph A. Weber, Anthony A. Hyman & Frank Jülicher Affiliations Contributions Corresponding author Nature Physics 13, 408–413 (2017) doi:10.1038/nphys3984 Received 29 April 2016 Accepted 10 November 2016 Published online 12 December 2016 Article tools PDF Citation Reprints Rights & permissions Article metrics Abstract Abstract• Introduction• Division of active droplets• Chemically active droplets as a model for protocells• Methods• References• Acknowledgements• Author information• Supplementary information It has been proposed that during the early steps in the origin of life, small droplets could have formed via the segregation of molecules from complex mixtures by phase separation. These droplets could have provided chemical reaction centres. However, whether these droplets could divide and propagate is unclear. Here we examine the behaviour of droplets in systems that are maintained away from thermodynamic equilibrium by an external supply of energy. In these systems, droplets grow by the addition of droplet material generated by chemical reactions. Surprisingly, we find that chemically driven droplet growth can lead to shape instabilities that trigger the division of droplets into two smaller daughters. Therefore, chemically active droplets can exhibit cycles of growth and division that resemble the proliferation of living cells. Dividing active droplets could serve as a model for prebiotic protocells, where chemical reactions in the droplet play the role of a prebiotic metabolism