Templated replication (or lack thereof) under prebiotically pertinent conditions.

ABSTRACT: Accurate replication of encoded information would have been crucial for the formation and propagation of functional ribozymes during the early evolution of life. Studies aimed at understanding prebiotically pertinent nonenzymatic reactions have predominantly used activated nucleotides. However, the existence of concentrated pools of activated monomers on prebiotic Earth is debatable. In this study, we explored the feasibility of nonenzymatic copying reactions using the more prebiotically relevant 5'-nucleoside monophosphates (5'-NMP). These reactions, involving a 20-mer primer, were performed in the presence of amphiphiles, under volcanic geothermal conditions. Interestingly, the extended primer was not comparable to the expected full length 21-mer product. Our results suggest loss of the

SUBMITTER: Bapat NV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6177409 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature