Peptide conjugates with polyaromatic hydrocarbons can benefit the activity of catalytic RNAs.

ABSTRACT: Early stages of life likely employed catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) in many functions that are today filled by proteins. However, the earliest life forms must have emerged from heterogenous chemical mixtures, which included amino acids, short peptides, and many other compounds. Here we explored whether the presence of short peptides can help the emergence of catalytic RNAs. To do this, we conducted an in vitro selection for catalytic RNAs from randomized sequence in the presence of ten different peptides with a prebiotically plausible length of eight amino acids. This in vitro selection generated dozens of ribozymes, one of them with ∼900-fold higher activity in the presence of one specific peptide. Unexpectedly, the beneficial peptide had retained its N-terminal Fmoc protection

SUBMITTER: Sweeney KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10529712 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature