Concept of Sustained Ordering and an ATP-related Mechanism of Life’s Origin

The most evident and general characteristic of life is its highly ordered state and increase of order,both during the life of an individual organism and on the scale of the entire history of the evolutionof life.Currently, Darwinism is a main evolutionary concept. As a theory of adaptation of organisms tovariable environments, Darwinism is confirmed by numerous examples. However, it should beemphasized that natural selection is not an agent of ordering. Natural selection does not createanything new. Selection preserves that which already exists, that which is most resistant to processesof disordering. The ordering itself in Darwinism is regarded as an accidental favorable change(positive mutation in modern terms) fixed by natural selection. At the level of simple molecules, whichOPEN ACCESSInt. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 102020played a role at the pre-biological stage, “natural selection” leads to equilibrium. Therefore it does nothelp us to understand the origin of life. Dawkins [1] believes that the problem of the origin of life canbe approached by assuming a low-probability case, when a structure (in fact, the simplest organism)capable of further development by natural selection emerges spontaneously. Similarly, Arrhenius [2,p. 204] argues that life begins from random interaction and growth of macromolecules. When they“reach the large size that eventually permit biofunctionality, then the system emerges from chaos into aDarwinian selection regime, governed by rules other than those of chance”. Thus the apologists ofDarwinism assume that Darwinian selection cannot explain the origin of life, and believe that lifeemerged and developed to the certain level by chance. Obviously the difficulty stems from the fact thatDarwinism is not a theory of ordering.Numerous models of self-organization have been suggested [3-8]. However, all these modelsinclude natural selection as a driving force. It has been shown in non-equilibrium thermodynamics thatin irreversible processes far away from equilibrium spatially correlated forms (dissipative structures)emerge, and evolution can proceed through consecutive instabilities by bifurcations [9]. Prigoginesuggested that such a mechanism is inherent to the origin and evolution of life [10]. Although thisphysical phenomenon exists and some features of evolution may be described on this theoretical basis,it is unlikely to be applicable to biological ordering in general. Eigen noted that: “macroscopicordering in geometric space (which implies the formation of dissipative structures) has few analogieswith functional ordering occurring in biological objects” [3]. Eigen’s own concept of evolution,related to notion of value of information, also met criticism: “there is no value without goal: thequestion about value of information emerges only when the goal is determined” [6, p. 11]. Butevolution has no goal.The extreme alternative to Darwinism is the concept of a Designer (which suggests existence of agoal!). Anti-Darwinist Behe [11] analyzed the biological systems of “irreducible complexity” (whichmake sense only taking as a whole) and concluded that such systems could not be formed byDarwinian evolution, Noble Laureate C. De Duve [12] wrote in his book: “Why not imagine a Godwho, from the start, created a world capable of giving rise to life by the sole unfolding of natural lawsof His own devising?” However it is not sufficient to have a design. The design must be implemented.If one assumes that there has been a creator behind each system of “irreducible complexity”, each newspecies, and each individual, then the creator must have a set of instruments, which allow it to directevery molecule at each moment in time and at each point in space. Such an idea of a creator coincideswith our understanding of Nature, where the “instruments” are the natural laws.Eventually, the problem is reduced to the question: Is there a mechanism of natural ordering, whichexplains emergence and evolution of life? This paper presents an approach, different of thosepreviously suggested, and describes a model of ordering which is relevant to the phenomenon of lifein Nature.

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