Journal
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EVOLUTION
Volume 78, Issue 5, Pages 251-262Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00239-014-9623-2
Keywords
RNA; Condensation reactions; Hydrolysis; Organizing matrix; Prebiotic chemistry
Funding
- Lonsdale Research Award
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We previously reported that 5'-mononucleotides organized within a multilamellar lipid matrix can produce oligomers in the anhydrous phase of hydration-dehydration (HD) cycles. However, hydrolysis of oligomers can occur during hydration, and it is important to better understand the steady state in which ester bond synthesis is balanced by hydrolysis. In order to study condensation products of mononucleotides and hydrolysis of their polymers, we established a simulation of HD cycles that would occur on the early Earth when volcanic land masses emerged from the ocean over 4 billion years ago. At this stage on early Earth, precipitation produced hydrothermal fields characterized by small aqueous pools undergoing evaporation and refilling at elevated temperatures. Here, we confirm that under these conditions, the chemical potential made available by cycles of hydration and dehydration is sufficient to drive synthesis of ester bonds. If 5'-mononucleotides are in solution at millimolar concentrations, then oligomers resembling RNA are synthesized and exist in a steady state with their monomers. Furthermore, if the mononucleotides can form complementary base pairs, then some of the products have properties suggesting that secondary structures are present, including duplex species stabilized by hydrogen bonds.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available