Light-Fueled Primitive Replication and Selection in Biomimetic Chemical Systems.

ABSTRACT: The concept of chemically evolvable replicators is central to abiogenesis. Chemical evolvability requires three essential components: energy-harvesting mechanisms for nonequilibrium dissipation, kinetically asymmetric replication and decomposition pathways, and structure-dependent selective templating in the autocatalytic cycles. We observed a UVA light-fueled chemical system displaying sequence-dependent replication and replicator decomposition. The system was constructed with primitive peptidic foldamer components. The photocatalytic formation-recombination cycle of thiyl radicals was coupled with the molecular recognition steps in the replication cycles. Thiyl radical-mediated chain reaction was responsible for the replicator death mechanism. The competing and kinetically asymmetric rep

SUBMITTER: Bartus E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10288511 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature