Abiogenesis is the process by which living organisms arise naturally from non-living matter. There is only evidence for a single occurrence of this, represented by all life on earth. To determine the mechanism for abiogenesis, smaller steps need to be elucidated before understanding the whole. One such step is the compartmentalization of life from the environment.<br/><br/>One of the simplest membrane forming materials is a group of amphiphilic molecules called fatty acids. Changes in aqueous environments like dilution from precipitation, influx of metabolic components and ionic compounds, or acidity changes could all affect the membrane composition and protocell morphology. We examined the equilibrium between free monomers in solution and aggregates using equilibrium dialysis to separate the two phases and analyzed the phases with gas chromatography after methylation of the fatty acids. The results are similar to results from critical vesicle concentration measurements, but show directly the concentrations of solubilized monomer. The effects of changing the environment on this equilibrium were also tested. Increasing ionic strength shifted the equilibrium towards aggregates, while increasing the temperature shifted the equilibrium towards monomers. These results illustrate the importance of environment in generating stable structures for the origins of life.

Analysis of lipid membrane content in dynamic environments

249th National Meeting (2015)

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