The RNA World on Ice: A New Scenario for the Emergence of RNA Information |
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Authors: | Alexander V. Vlassov Sergei A. Kazakov Brian H. Johnston Laura F. Landweber |
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Affiliation: | (1) SomaGenics, Inc., 2161 Delaware Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA;(2) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton, University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA;(3) Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA |
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Abstract: | The RNA world hypothesis refers to a hypothetical era prior to coded peptide synthesis, where RNA was the major structural, genetic, and catalytic agent. Though it is a widely accepted scenario, a number of vexing difficulties remain. In this review we focus on a missing link of the RNA world hypothesis—primitive miniribozymes, in particular ligases, and discuss the role of these molecules in the evolution of RNA size and complexity. We argue that prebiotic conditions associated with freezing, rather than “warm and wet” conditions, could have been of key importance in the early RNA world.[Reviewing Editor: Dr. Niles Lehman] |
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Keywords: | RNA world Miniribozymes RNA evolution Freezing catalysis |
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