TY - JOUR
T1 - The free energy and information embodied in the amino acid chains of organisms
AU - Jørgensen, Sven Erik
AU - Ludovisi, Alessandro
AU - Nielsen, Søren Nors
PY - 2010/9/1
Y1 - 2010/9/1
N2 - It is generally accepted as a useful and workable hypothesis that when an ecosystem receives an inflow of exergy (energy that can do work) it will utilize this flow of exergy to move as far away from thermodynamic equilibrium as possible after the exergy (energy) for maintenance has been covered. If more combinations of system components including organisms are offered, the combination of components and processes that will bring the system most away from thermodynamic equilibrium will win.The amino acid sequences of the proteins e.g. enzymes determine and control the life processes of the organisms and may be viewed as information sensu lato. The free energy of oxidation of the amino acids and the peptide bonds of the cell enzymes expresses therefore the exergy content, eco-exergy or work capacity that the information contributes to "moving further away from thermodynamic equilibrium" In this paper eco-exergy is calculated and plotted versus the β-values (a measure of the information contained in the genome) for different organisms. The eco-exergy density was previously (see Jørgensen et al., 1995, 2005) proposed to be calculated as the summation of the product of the β-values representing the information of the genome multiplied by the concentrations of the respective ecosystem components. This analysis shows a strong correlation between the β-values and free energy released when oxidizing the enzymes. The β-values can therefore be assumed to represent the free energy that the organisms have invested in genetic information.
AB - It is generally accepted as a useful and workable hypothesis that when an ecosystem receives an inflow of exergy (energy that can do work) it will utilize this flow of exergy to move as far away from thermodynamic equilibrium as possible after the exergy (energy) for maintenance has been covered. If more combinations of system components including organisms are offered, the combination of components and processes that will bring the system most away from thermodynamic equilibrium will win.The amino acid sequences of the proteins e.g. enzymes determine and control the life processes of the organisms and may be viewed as information sensu lato. The free energy of oxidation of the amino acids and the peptide bonds of the cell enzymes expresses therefore the exergy content, eco-exergy or work capacity that the information contributes to "moving further away from thermodynamic equilibrium" In this paper eco-exergy is calculated and plotted versus the β-values (a measure of the information contained in the genome) for different organisms. The eco-exergy density was previously (see Jørgensen et al., 1995, 2005) proposed to be calculated as the summation of the product of the β-values representing the information of the genome multiplied by the concentrations of the respective ecosystem components. This analysis shows a strong correlation between the β-values and free energy released when oxidizing the enzymes. The β-values can therefore be assumed to represent the free energy that the organisms have invested in genetic information.
KW - Eco-exergy
KW - Exergy
KW - Free energy
KW - Information
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77955775748&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.06.003
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.06.003
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:77955775748
SN - 0304-3800
VL - 221
SP - 2388
EP - 2392
JO - Ecological Modelling
JF - Ecological Modelling
IS - 19
ER -