Emergence of structures from parasitic species in a spatially distributed molecular system

This dataset contains microscopy images from a microfluidic setup implementing a localized autocatalytic molecular system based on the PEN DNA toolbox. Due to the enzymatic nature of the catalytic process, a variety of parasitic species eventually emerge and compete with the legitimate molecular process for fuel. The behaviors observed range from the creation of large stable structures to that of small diffusing particles. Those results, along with the modularity of the molecular system, show that the proposed experimental setup can be used safely for further study of the evolution of parasitic behaviors at the molecular scale.