ABSTRACT
Non-equilibrium-statistical models of intracellular transport are built. The most significant features of these models are microscopic reversibility and the explicit considerations of the driving forces of the process - the ATP-ADP chemical potential difference. In this paper, water transport using contractile vacuoles, the transport and assembly of microtubules and microfilaments, the protein distribution within a cell, the transport of neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft and the transport of substances between cells using plasmodesmata are discussed. Endocytosis and phagocytosis models are considered, and transport tasks and information transfer mechanisms inside the cell are explored. Based on an analysis of chloroplast movement, it was concluded that they have a complicated method of influencing each other in the course of their movements. The role of quantum effects in sorting and control transport mechanisms is also discussed. It is likely that quantum effects play a large role in these processes, otherwise reliable molecular recognition would be impossible, which would lead to very low intracellular transport efficiency.
Subject(s)
Cell Membrane/metabolism , Endocytosis/physiology , Ion Channels/metabolism , Microtubules/metabolism , Amines/metabolism , Animals , Biological Transport/physiology , Cell Communication , Cell Membrane/ultrastructure , Glycine/metabolism , Humans , Ion Channels/ultrastructure , Microtubules/ultrastructure , Models, Biological , Nucleic Acids/metabolism , Phagocytosis/physiology , Quantum Theory , Signal Transduction , Water , gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolismABSTRACT
Models of the transport of substances in protocells are considered from first physicochemical principles. Functional similarities and differences in the transport systems of archaea, cyanobacteria, E. coli, and diatoms have been analyzed. Based on the selection of the most important transport systems, a model of transport of substances through the membrane of the last universal common ancestor, LUCA, was constructed. Models of isotope separation in protocells were considered. Based on the proposed models, the difference in isotope concentrations in rocks can be predicted, which can serve as an indicator of the presence of life in the early stages of evolution. Mechanisms of energy conversion for the simplest forms of directed motion in protocells are considered. A special stage in the evolution of protocells is proposed - the minimal mobile cell.
