exist, the selection of the hypercycle with the largest ql value takes place. When one hypercycle wins the selection and dominates the population, it is very difficult to replace it, even with a hypercycle with a much higher growth rate q. Compartmentalization and genome integration Hypercycle theory proposed that hypercycles are not the final state of organization, and further development of more complicated systems is possible by enveloping the hypercycle in some kind of membrane. After evolution of compartments, a genome integration of the hypercycle can proceed by linking its members into a single chain, which forms a precursor of a genome. After that, the whole individualized and compartmentalized hypercycle can behave like a simple self-replicating entity. Compartmentalization provides some advantages for a system that has already established a linkage between units. Without compartments, genome integration would boost competition by limiting space and resources. Moreover, adaptive evolution requires the package of transmissible information for advantageous mutations in order not to aid less-efficient copies of the gene. The first advantage is that it maintains a high local concentration of molecules, which helps to locally increase the rate of synthesis. Secondly, it keeps the effect of mutations local, while at the same time affecting the whole compartment. This favours preservation of beneficial mutations, because it prevents them from spreading away. At the same time, harmful mutations cannot pollute the entire system if they are enclosed by the membrane. Instead, only the contaminated compartment is destroyed, without affecting other compartments. In that way, compartmentalization allows for selection for genotypic mutations. Thirdly, membranes protect against environmental factors because they constitute a barrier for high-weight molecules or UV irradiation. Finally, the membrane surface can work as a catalyst. Despite the above-mentioned advantages, there are also potential problems connected to compartmentalized hypercycles. These problems include difficulty in the transport of ingredients in and out, synchronizing the synthesis of new copies of the hypercycle constituents, and division of the growing compartment linked to a packing problem. In the initial works, the compartmentalization was stated as an evolutionary consequence of the hypercyclic organization. Carsten Bresch and coworkers raised an objection that hypercyclic organization is not necessary if compartments are taken into account. They proposed the so-called package model in which one type of a polymerase is sufficient and copies all polynucleotide chains that contain a special recognition motif. However, as pointed out by the authors, such packages are—contrary