Reference no: EM133329494

The essential requirements to maintain a living unit like the first cell are:

organic energy sources;

an information storage system;

an expression system that uses the information to both exploit energy sources and to reproduce

a method of containment to distinguish the living cell from the outside world.

For each of the last three categories, identify the key molecules or groups of molecules used by the first cells that allowed them to maintain and propagate, and describe the properties/characteristics of these molecules that make them suited to these roles. As an example, the first category has already been done for you:

"The first cells required sources of energy to power the reactions necessary to maintain homeostasis. These energy sources were in the form of chemical bonds found in organic molecules like carbohydrates and lipids.Carbohydrates range from simple monosaccharides like glucose, to more complex polysaccharides like starch. The covalent bonds of carbohydrates are relatively easy to break, making them an immediate source of energy. Because of their polarity, carbohydrates readily dissolve in the water-based solution of the cytoplasm, making them widely available. Lipid sources of energy are generally in the form of triglycerides (fats and oils). Lipids take longer to hydrolyze than carbohydrates, but lipids posses more energy per unit mass than carbohydrates. Their longer breakdown times and their hydrophobic nature make them excellent forms of long-term energy storage for the cell."