Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides

In addition to being one of the proponents of the “Lipid World hypothesis”, David Deamer, together with other colleagues, pioneered studies involving formation of RNA-like oligomers from their ‘non-activated’, prebiotically plausible monomeric moieties. In par...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Felix Olasagasti, Sudha Rajamani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
Series:Life
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/4/83
_version_ 1811299691668701184
author Felix Olasagasti
Sudha Rajamani
author_facet Felix Olasagasti
Sudha Rajamani
author_sort Felix Olasagasti
collection DOAJ
description In addition to being one of the proponents of the &#8220;Lipid World hypothesis&#8221;, David Deamer, together with other colleagues, pioneered studies involving formation of RNA-like oligomers from their &#8216;non-activated&#8217;, prebiotically plausible monomeric moieties. In particular, the pioneering work in this regard was a publication from 2008 in <i>Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres</i>, <i>The Journal of the International Astrobiology Society</i>, wherein we described the formation of RNA-like oligomers from nucleoside 5&#8217;-monophosphates. In that study, we had simulated a terrestrial geothermal environment, a niche that is thought to have facilitated the prebiotic non-enzymatic synthesis of polynucleotides. We showed that a mixture of lipids and non-activated mononucleotides resulted in the formation of relatively long strands of RNA-like polymers when subjected to repeated cycles of dehydration and rehydration (DH-RH). Since 2008, terrestrial geothermal niches and DH-RH conditions have been explored in the context of several other prebiotic processes. In this article, we review the work that we and other researchers have carried out since then in this line of research, including the development of new apparatus to carry out the simulation of prebiotic terrestrial geothermal environments.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T06:39:35Z
format Article
id doaj.art-bd59a50c61304ef6962dc345e12c6b38
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-1729
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T06:39:35Z
publishDate 2019-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Life
spelling doaj.art-bd59a50c61304ef6962dc345e12c6b382022-12-22T02:57:47ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292019-11-01948310.3390/life9040083life9040083Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of NucleotidesFelix Olasagasti0Sudha Rajamani1Microfluidics &amp; BIOMICs Cluster, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Farmazia Fakultatea, Unibertsitateko Ibilbidea 7, 01006 Gasteiz, Basque Country, SpainDepartment of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, IndiaIn addition to being one of the proponents of the &#8220;Lipid World hypothesis&#8221;, David Deamer, together with other colleagues, pioneered studies involving formation of RNA-like oligomers from their &#8216;non-activated&#8217;, prebiotically plausible monomeric moieties. In particular, the pioneering work in this regard was a publication from 2008 in <i>Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres</i>, <i>The Journal of the International Astrobiology Society</i>, wherein we described the formation of RNA-like oligomers from nucleoside 5&#8217;-monophosphates. In that study, we had simulated a terrestrial geothermal environment, a niche that is thought to have facilitated the prebiotic non-enzymatic synthesis of polynucleotides. We showed that a mixture of lipids and non-activated mononucleotides resulted in the formation of relatively long strands of RNA-like polymers when subjected to repeated cycles of dehydration and rehydration (DH-RH). Since 2008, terrestrial geothermal niches and DH-RH conditions have been explored in the context of several other prebiotic processes. In this article, we review the work that we and other researchers have carried out since then in this line of research, including the development of new apparatus to carry out the simulation of prebiotic terrestrial geothermal environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/4/83rna-like polymerslipid-catalyzed polymerizationself-assemblyprebiotic chemistryprebiotic evolutionnucleic acid replicationorigin of liferna world
spellingShingle Felix Olasagasti
Sudha Rajamani
Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
Life
rna-like polymers
lipid-catalyzed polymerization
self-assembly
prebiotic chemistry
prebiotic evolution
nucleic acid replication
origin of life
rna world
title Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
title_full Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
title_fullStr Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
title_full_unstemmed Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
title_short Lipid-Assisted Polymerization of Nucleotides
title_sort lipid assisted polymerization of nucleotides
topic rna-like polymers
lipid-catalyzed polymerization
self-assembly
prebiotic chemistry
prebiotic evolution
nucleic acid replication
origin of life
rna world
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/9/4/83
work_keys_str_mv AT felixolasagasti lipidassistedpolymerizationofnucleotides
AT sudharajamani lipidassistedpolymerizationofnucleotides