Evolution of functional nucleic acids in the presence of nonheritable backbone heterogeneity.

ABSTRACT: Multiple lines of evidence support the hypothesis that the early evolution of life was dominated by RNA, which can both transfer information from generation to generation through replication directed by base-pairing, and carry out biochemical activities by folding into functional structures. To understand how life emerged from prebiotic chemistry we must therefore explain the steps that led to the emergence of the RNA world, and in particular, the synthesis of RNA. The generation of pools of highly pure ribonucleotides on the early Earth seems unlikely, but the presence of alternative nucleotides would support the assembly of nucleic acid polymers containing nonheritable backbone heterogeneity. We suggest that homogeneous monomers might not have been necessary if populations of heterogeneo

SUBMITTER: Trevino SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3158193 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature