[biorxiv.org] Life began with the emergence of a molecule that could replicate its own genetic material, a task plausibly mediated by an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ribozyme.
polymerase
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
A Small Polymerase Ribozyme That Can Synthesize Itself And Its Complementary Strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
RNA-Catalyzed Evolution
NASA-supported researchers have used a laboratory technique called directed evolution to create an RNA enzyme that is capable of carrying out RNA polymerase activity. In living cells, protein polymerases catalyze […]