Emergence of linkage between cooperative RNA replicators encoding replication and metabolic enzymes through experimental evolution.

ABSTRACT: The integration of individually replicating genes into a primitive chromosome is a key evolutionary transition in the development of life, allowing the simultaneous inheritance of genes. However, how this transition occurred is unclear because the extended size of primitive chromosomes replicate slower than unlinked genes. Theoretical studies have suggested that a primitive chromosome can evolve in the presence of cell-like compartments, as the physical linkage prevents the stochastic loss of essential genes upon division, but experimental support for this is lacking. Here, we demonstrate the evolution of a chromosome-like RNA from two cooperative RNA replicators encoding replication and metabolic enzymes. Through their long-term replication in cell-like compartments, linked RNAs emerged w

SUBMITTER: Ueda K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10431678 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature