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The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions

Preiner M 1 , Asche S 2 , Becker S 3 , Betts HC 4 , Boniface A 5 , Camprubi E 6 Show all authors , Chandru K 7 , Erastova V 8 , Garg SG 1 , Khawaja N 9 , Kostyrka G 10 , Machné R 11 , Moggioli G 12 , Muchowska KB 13 , Neukirchen S 14 , Peter B 15 , Pichlhöfer E 14 , Radványi Á 16 , Rossetto D 17 , Salditt A 18 , Schmelling NM 11 , Sousa FL 14 , Tria FDK 1 , Vörös D 16 , Xavier JC 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Molecular Evolution, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 2 School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QQ, UK
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
  • 4 School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RL, UK
  • 5 Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Université de Lyon, 69130 Ecully, France
  • 6 Origins Center, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • 7 Space Science Center (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change, Level 3, Research Complex, National University of Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 8 UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
  • 9 Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
  • 10 Lycée Colbert, BP 50620 59208 Tourcoing Cedex, France
  • 11 Institute of Synthetic Microbiology, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 12 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4DQ, UK
  • 13 Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
  • 14 Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • 15 Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
  • 16 Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
  • 17 Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
  • 18 Systems Biophysics, Physics Department, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80799 Munich, Germany
Life (Basel), 2020 Feb 26;10(3).
PMID: 32110893 DOI: 10.3390/life10030020

Abstract

Research on the origin of life is highly heterogeneous. After a peculiar historical development, it still includes strongly opposed views which potentially hinder progress. In the 1st Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting, early-career researchers gathered to explore the commonalities between theories and approaches, critical divergence points, and expectations for the future. We find that even though classical approaches and theories-e.g. bottom-up and top-down, RNA world vs. metabolism-first-have been prevalent in origin of life research, they are ceasing to be mutually exclusive and they can and should feed integrating approaches. Here we focus on pressing questions and recent developments that bridge the classical disciplines and approaches, and highlight expectations for future endeavours in origin of life research.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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