Kinetic explanations for the sequence biases observed in the nonenzymatic copying of RNA templates.

ABSTRACT: The identification of nonenzymatic pathways for nucleic acid replication is a key challenge in understanding the origin of life. We have previously shown that nonenzymatic RNA primer extension using 2-aminoimidazole (2AI) activated nucleotides occurs primarily through an imidazolium-bridged dinucleotide intermediate. The reactive nature and preorganized structure of the intermediate increase the efficiency of primer extension but remain insufficient to drive extensive copying of RNA templates containing all four canonical nucleotides. To understand the factors that limit RNA copying, we synthesized all ten 2AI-bridged dinucleotide intermediates and measured the kinetics of primer extension in a model system. The affinities of the ten dinucleotides for the primer/template/helper complexes v

SUBMITTER: Ding D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8754633 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature