Feedback-Mediated Stabilization in Pre-Replicative Systems

The emergence of feedback between molecular systems and their environment is a fundamental step in the origin of life. While previous studies have addressed selection through differential persistence and environmental modification by molecular populations, the minimal conditions under which feedback itself arises remain unclear.

Here, we propose that feedback can emerge prior to replication when molecular-induced environmental changes influence the persistence of molecular structures. In this framework, molecular systems modify local physicochemical conditions, and these modifications, in turn, alter persistence probabilities within the same molecular population.

We define feedback-mediated stabilization as the condition in which environmental modification affects the persistence of the structures that produced it. Under such conditions, molecular structures may experience persistence enhancement through their own environmental effects, leading to stabilization without requiring replication or heredity.

This perspective provides a minimal and physically grounded account of feedback in pre-replicative systems. It establishes feedback as an emergent property of coupled molecular-environment interactions, preceding the formation of fully self-sustaining biological organization.