Frequency of RNA-RNA interaction in a model of the RNA World.

ABSTRACT: The RNA World model for prebiotic evolution posits the selection of catalytic/template RNAs from random populations. The mechanisms by which these random populations could be generated de novo are unclear. Non-enzymatic and RNA-catalyzed nucleic acid polymerizations are poorly processive, which means that the resulting short-chain RNA population could contain only limited diversity. Nonreciprocal recombination of smaller RNAs provides an alternative mechanism for the assembly of larger species with concomitantly greater structural diversity; however, the frequency of any specific recombination event in a random RNA population is limited by the low probability of an encounter between any two given molecules. This low probability could be overcome if the molecules capable of productive recom

SUBMITTER: Striggles JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1383575 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature