Increasing complexity

The question arises as to how they can do very much in the way of synthesizing error correction machinery - when they cannot become complex enough to specify it.

A possible resolution to this dilemma arises in the form of multiple species.

If compounds A, B, C, D, E and F are needed in order to synthesize some piece of complex equipment, one might think that organisms are stumped if they can only snthesize two components before they face a mutational meltdown due to a high error rate.

A possible resolution to this dilemma arises in the form of multiple species.

We can envisage, one species synthezizing A and B, another synthesizing C and D and a third synthesizing E and F.

If these species coesxisted in the same environment, all the components necessary for the synthesis would be available in solution.

While this is a fairly obvious point, it suggests that even small simple self-replicating systems with relatively high error rates may be relevant to the origin of life.

Even if such organisms were not themselves capable of much in the way of complexity they may nontheless contain the seeds of more complex systems.

References

Genetic information could be integrated extrinsically for simplest life forms;