The dawn of the RNA World: toward functional complexity through ligation of random RNA oligomers.
RNA
; 15(5): 743-9, 2009 May.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19318464
ABSTRACT
A main unsolved problem in the RNA World scenario for the origin of life is how a template-dependent RNA polymerase ribozyme emerged from short RNA oligomers obtained by random polymerization on mineral surfaces. A number of computational studies have shown that the structural repertoire yielded by that process is dominated by topologically simple structures, notably hairpin-like ones. A fraction of these could display RNA ligase activity and catalyze the assembly of larger, eventually functional RNA molecules retaining their previous modular structure molecular complexity increases but template replication is absent. This allows us to build up a stepwise model of ligation-based, modular evolution that could pave the way to the emergence of a ribozyme with RNA replicase activity, step at which information-driven Darwinian evolution would be triggered.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
ARN Catalítico
/
Evolución Molecular
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
Idioma:
En
Año:
2009
Tipo del documento:
Article