Wet-dry cycles enable the parallel origin of canonical and non-canonical nucleosides by continuous synthesis.

ABSTRACT: The molecules of life were created by a continuous physicochemical process on an early Earth. In this hadean environment, chemical transformations were driven by fluctuations of the naturally given physical parameters established for example by wet-dry cycles. These conditions might have allowed for the formation of (self)-replicating RNA as the fundamental biopolymer during chemical evolution. The question of how a complex multistep chemical synthesis of RNA building blocks was possible in such an environment remains unanswered. Here we report that geothermal fields could provide the right setup for establishing wet-dry cycles that allow for the synthesis of RNA nucleosides by continuous synthesis. Our model provides both the canonical and many ubiquitous non-canonical purine nucleosides

SUBMITTER: Becker S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5765019 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature