Biochemical Refinement Before Genetics: Chance Utility.
Michael YarusPublished in: Journal of molecular evolution (2016)
Given two primordial conditions that seem likely to be common, near-ideal reactions for evolutionary progress are realized. These requisites are sporadic availability of pooled reactants and evolutionarily useful products within a pool's repertoire. These intrinsically optimizing circumstances function without genetics, and therefore can help evolve a first genetic system. This process is termed chance utility.