Emergence of linkage between cooperative RNA replicators encoding replication and metabolic enzymes through experimental evolution.

The integration of individually replicating genes into a primitive chromosome is a key evolutionary transition in the development of life, allowing the simultaneous inheritance of genes. However, how this transition occurred is unclear because the extended size of primitive chromosomes replicate slower than unlinked genes. Theoretical studies have suggested that a primitive chromosome can evolve in the presence of cell-like compartments, as the physical linkage prevents the stochastic loss of essential genes upon division, but experimental support for this is lacking. Here, we demonstrate the evolution of a chromosome-like RNA from two cooperative RNA replicators encoding replication and metabolic enzymes. Through their long-term replication in cell-like compartments, linked RNAs emerged with the two cooperative RNAs connected end-to-end. The linked RNAs had different mutation patterns than the two unlinked RNAs, suggesting that they were maintained as partially distinct lineages in the population. Our results provide experimental evidence supporting the plausibility of the evolution of a primitive chromosome from unlinked gene fragments, an important step in the emergence of complex biological systems.

Emergence and diversification of a host-parasite RNA ecosystem through Darwinian evolution.

In prebiotic evolution, molecular self-replicators are considered to develop into diverse, complex living organisms. The appearance of parasitic replicators is believed inevitable in this process. However, the role of parasitic replicators in prebiotic evolution remains elusive. Here, we demonstrated experimental coevolution of RNA self-replicators (host RNAs) and emerging parasitic replicators (parasitic RNAs) using an RNA-protein replication system we developed. During a long-term replication experiment, a clonal population of the host RNA turned into an evolving host-parasite ecosystem through the continuous emergence of new types of host and parasitic RNAs produced by replication errors. The host and parasitic RNAs diversified into at least two and three different lineages, respectively, and they exhibited evolutionary arms-race dynamics. The parasitic RNA accumulated unique mutations, thus adding a new genetic variation to the whole replicator ensemble. These results provide the first experimental evidence that the coevolutionary interplay between host-parasite molecules plays a key role in generating diversity and complexity in prebiotic molecular evolution.

A Fusion Method to Develop an Expanded Artificial Genomic RNA Replicable by Qß Replicase.

RNA-based genomes are used to synthesize artificial cells that harbor genome replication systems. Previously, continuous replication of an artificial genomic RNA that encoded an RNA replicase was demonstrated. The next important challenge is to expand such genomes by increasing the number of encoded genes. However, technical difficulties are encountered during such expansions because the introduction of new genes disrupts the secondary structure of RNA and makes RNA nonreplicable through replicase. Herein, a fusion method that enables the construction of a longer RNA from two replicable RNAs, while retaining replication capability, is proposed. Two replicable RNAs that encode different genes at various positions are fused, and a new parameter, the unreplicable index, which negatively correlates with the replication ability of the fused RNAs better than that of the previous parameter, is determined. The unreplicable index represents the expected value of the number of G or C nucleotides that are unpaired in both the template and complementary strands. It is also observed that some of the constructed fused RNAs replicate efficiently by using the internally translated replicase. The method proposed herein could contribute to the development of an expanded RNA genome that can be used for the purpose of artificial cell synthesis.

Iron-catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling of tertiary silanes.

A variety of tertiary silanes, even those with functional substituents, undergo an unprecedented iron-catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling (see scheme) in a convenient approach to disilanes, including unsymmetrical disilanes and polymers with Si-Si bonds in the backbone. Consideration of the catalytic reaction pathway revealed the intermediacy of a hydrido(disilyl)iron(IV) complex.

Iron-complex-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage of organonitriles: catalytic metathesis reaction between H-Si and R-CN bonds to afford R-H and Si-CN bonds.

The first example of the catalytic C-CN bond cleavage of acetonitrile as well as Si-CN bond formation have been achieved in the photoreaction of MeCN with Et3SiH promoted by [Cp(CO)2FeMe]. This catalytic system is applicable to other organonitriles. Several iron complexes [(eta(5)-C5R5)(CO)2FeR'] (R5 = H5, H4Me, Me5, H4SiMe3, H4I, H4P(O)(OMe)2; R' = SiMe3, CH2Ph, Me, Cl, I) were examined as catalyst, and [Cp(CO)2FeMe] was found to be the best precursor. A catalytic reaction cycle was proposed, which involves oxidative addition of Et3SiH to [Cp(CO)FeMe], reductive elimination of CH4 from [Cp(CO)FeMe(H)(SiEt3)], coordination of RCN to [Cp(CO)Fe(SiEt3)], silyl migration from Fe to N in the coordinated RCN, and dissociation of Et3SiNC from Fe. The reaction with MeCN of [Cp(CO)Fe(py)(SiEt3)], which was newly prepared and determined by X-ray analysis, and the reaction of Et3SiH with MeCN in the presence of a catalytic amount of [Cp(CO)Fe(py)(SiEt3)] showed that the 16-electron species [Cp(CO)Fe(SiEt3)] is the active species in the catalytic cycle (TON up to 251).