The difficult case of an RNA-only origin of life
Kristian Le Vay; Hannes Mutschler
Emerg Top Life Sci (2019) 3 (5): 469–475.
https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20190024
Emerg Top Life Sci (2019) 3 (5): 469–475.
https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20190024
Source/Fonte: The RNA world hypothesis: the worst theory of the early evolution of life (except for all the others)
Abstract
The RNA world hypothesis is probably the most extensively studied model for the emergence of life on Earth. Despite a large body of evidence supporting the idea that RNA is capable of kick-starting autocatalytic self-replication and thus initiating the emergence of life, seemingly insurmountable weaknesses in the theory have also been highlighted. These problems could be overcome by novel experimental approaches, including out-of-equilibrium environments, and the exploration of an early co-evolution of RNA and other key biomolecules such as peptides and DNA, which might be necessary to mitigate the shortcomings of RNA-only systems.
Keywords: origins of life, prebiotic chemistry, RNA catalysis, RNA world, self-replication
Subjects: Chemical Biology, Evolutionary Biology, RNA, Synthetic Biology
The RNA world hypothesis is probably the most extensively studied model for the emergence of life on Earth. Despite a large body of evidence supporting the idea that RNA is capable of kick-starting autocatalytic self-replication and thus initiating the emergence of life, seemingly insurmountable weaknesses in the theory have also been highlighted. These problems could be overcome by novel experimental approaches, including out-of-equilibrium environments, and the exploration of an early co-evolution of RNA and other key biomolecules such as peptides and DNA, which might be necessary to mitigate the shortcomings of RNA-only systems.
Keywords: origins of life, prebiotic chemistry, RNA catalysis, RNA world, self-replication
Subjects: Chemical Biology, Evolutionary Biology, RNA, Synthetic Biology
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