A COMPUTER MODEL OF CELLULAR SELF-REPRODUCTION

Previous reports have dealt with the concept of molecular automata, programmed as Turing Machines, which simulate action of enzymes in a model cell composed of biochemical strings. The standardized coding of the enzyme automata represents the genes. Self-reprodution was obtained previously by means of a system of 36 genes. This report describes a more complex cell system consisting of46 genes, which is capable of repeated self-reproduction and differentiation. The model is one of logical control or self-organization and no attempt is made to use quantitative biochemical data. It is simulated oA a SDS-920 computer with, a special "list-processing" program. Tables show the gene-enzyme makeup of the cell and describe action of the synthetic and controller types of genes. There is discussion of various techniques of mathematical and computer cell simulation. The list-processing methodology, supplemented with additional numerical analog features, could probably be used to represent all of the important structures and processes of a real virus or cell in a reasonable way and lends itself to study of large and complex cell models.