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A Prebiotic Ribosylation of Pyrimidine Nucleobases Enabled by Metal Cations and Clay Minerals.

ABSTRACT: We report a prebiotically relevant solution to the N1-ribosylation of pyrimidine nucleobases, a well-known challenge to the RNA world hypothesis. We found that the presence of metal cations and clay minerals enable the previously unachievable direct ribosylation of uracil. Spectroscopy and chromatography analyses confirmed the formation of ribosylated uracil. The method can be extended to the ribosylation of 2-pyrimidinone. These findings are also compatible with the metal-doped-clay model, developed by our lab for the unified route of the selection of ribose and subsequent syntheses of nucleotide and RNA.

SUBMITTER: Chen QQ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8707481 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A Prebiotic Ribosylation of Pyrimidine Nucleobases Enabled by Metal Cations and Clay Minerals.

Chen Qian-Qian QQ Zhao Ze-Run ZR Wang Xiao X

Life (Basel, Switzerland) 20211210 12

We report a prebiotically relevant solution to the <i>N</i>1-ribosylation of pyrimidine nucleobases, a well-known challenge to the RNA world hypothesis. We found that the presence of metal cations and clay minerals enable the previously unachievable direct ribosylation of uracil. Spectroscopy and chromatography analyses confirmed the formation of ribosylated uracil. The method can be extended to the ribosylation of 2-pyrimidinone. These findings are also compatible with the metal-doped-clay mode ...[more]

PMID: 34947911

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