Proto-Urea-RNA (Wohler RNA) Containing Unusually Stable Urea Nucleosides.

ABSTRACT: The RNA world hypothesis assumes that life on Earth began with nucleotides that formed information-carrying RNA oligomers able to self-replicate. Prebiotic reactions leading to the contemporary nucleosides are now known, but their execution often requires specific starting materials and lengthy reaction sequences. It was therefore proposed that the RNA world was likely proceeded by a proto-RNA world constructed from molecules that were likely present on the early Earth in greater abundance. Herein, we show that the prebiotic starting molecules bis-urea (biuret) and tris-urea (triuret) are able to directly react with ribose. The urea-ribosides are remarkably stable because they are held together by a network of intramolecular, bifurcated hydrogen bonds. This even allowed the synthesis of ph

SUBMITTER: Okamura H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6916321 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature