Copying of Mixed-Sequence RNA Templates inside Model Protocells
Open accessAbstract
The chemical replication of RNA inside fatty acid vesicles is a plausible step in the emergence of cellular life. On the primitive Earth, simple protocells with the ability to import nucleotides and short oligomers from their environment could potentially have replicated and retained larger genomic RNA oligonucleotides within a spatially defined compartment. We have previously shown that short 5′-phosphoroimidazolide-activated “helper” RNA oligomers enable the nonenzymatic copying of mixed-sequence templates in solution, using 5′-phosphoroimidazolide-activated mononucleotides. Here, we report that citrate-chelated Mg2+, a catalyst of nonenzymatic primer extension, enhances fatty acid membrane permeability to such short RNA oligomers up to the size of tetramers, without disrupting vesicle membranes. In addition, selective permeability of short, but not long, oligomers can be further enhanced by elevating the temperature. The ability to increase the permeability of fatty acid membranes to short oligonucleotides allows for the nonenzymatic copying of RNA templates containing all four nucleotides inside vesicles, bringing us one step closer to the goal of building a protocell capable of Darwinian evolution.
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It has been possible to copy short RNA templates inside fatty acid vesicles following the addition of activated monomers and trimers to the outside of the vesicles.
“it has been possible to copy short RNA templates inside fatty acid vesicles following the addition of activated monomers and trimers to the outside of the vesicles”
From Protocells and RNA Self-Replication (2018) · cites this paper as O'Flaherty et al. 2018
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Primitive selection of the fittest emerging through functional synergy in nucleopeptide networks
Bandela, A. K., Wagner, N., Sadihov, H., Morales-Reina, S., Chotera-Ouda, A., Basu, K., Cohen-Luria, R., de la Escosura, A., & Ashkenasy, G. (2021) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2015285118 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
- Authors
- O’Flaherty, D. K., Kamat, N. P., Mirza, F. N., Li, L., Prywes, N., & Szostak, J. W.
- Affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kamat, Neha P.
- Szostak, Jack W.
- Venue
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2018-04-02
- Volume
- 140
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 5171-5178
- ISSN
- 0002-7863 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5126
- PMC
- PMC7547884
- OpenAlex
- W2795453866
- Cited by
- 90
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 6.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of the American Chemical Society (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (NA)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NA)
- Division of Chemistry (CHE-1607034)
- Simons Foundation (290363)
- Chicago Community Trust (NA)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Keywords
- protocells, fatty acid vesicles, membrane permeability, origin of life, early Earth, Darwinian evolution
- MeSH terms
- Base Sequence, Fatty Acids, Magnesium, RNA, Temperature, Citric Acid
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