Nonlinear Variation in Simulated Complex Pattern Development.

Simulated spore walls manufactured from colloidal polystyrene latex, cyclohexane and water demonstrate a range of structure comparable with that occurring within the walls of Selaginella megaspores. Initial investigation of the relationship between the initiation parameters of the self-assembling simulation and its ultimate structure imply a nonlinear relationship. It is suggested that such self-assembly processes result in structure that cannot be directly mapped onto an equivalent genetic coding and that phylogenetic analyses based on self-assembled structure may differ in its conclusions from that based on DNA sequences.Copyright 1998 Academic Press Limited