Title : Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth
link : Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth
Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth
Breakthrough study finds building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth
- Experts say a commonly held theory of the origins of cellular life could be wrong
- It was thought that RNA was the basis from which DNA and cells developed
- But new research shows both DNA and RNA could've existed at the same time
- A compound called thiouridine may have been the catalyst, researchers say
A long-held and popular theory of the precursor to cellular life could be turned upside down, as researchers have claimed in a new study that RNA and DNA may have originally existed together.
The findings, in addition to furthering theories on the origins of life, clash with a widely accepted hypothesis called 'RNA World' which posits that cellular lifeforms as we know them developed first from RNA.
The breakthrough study has been published in the journal Nature Chemistry.
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A new discovery about RNA shows that the origins of life cellular life as we know them may have a different background. Researchers say RNA and DNA may have existed together
'These new findings suggest that it may not be reasonable for chemists to be so heavily guided by the RNA World hypothesis in investigating the origins of life on Earth,' said co-principal investigator Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research.
In the RNA World theory, proposed first in 1968, the molecule acted as the first precursor to cellular life, later evolving into DNA through its interaction with enzymes.
In a new theory, however, researchers have identified a compound present during life's origin called thiouridine.
They believe that, through a few plausible chemical reactions, thiouridine could have been converted into either DNA or RNA.
These two fundamental building blocks for cellular life could have even combined together to create the first ever genes, separating themselves by their strengths and weaknesses like we see in cells today.
'There is the beginning of a realization in the field that RNA and DNA could have been mixed together initially but later separated according to the things they do best,' Krishnamurthy said.
Scientists said that DNA is perfect for the storing of long term genetic information while RNA is exceptionally good at transporting genetic information and making proteins
While the RNA World theory has gained traction throughout the last half-century, scientists have continued to debate the theory of how life on Earth originally started.
In some theories, life developed from simple proteins that also acted as Enzymes, with DNA and RNA following afterwards, while in others, lipids, or fats, formed the basis for cellular life.
Scientists say that applications of discovering life's origins could affect everything from our basic understanding of medicine and the human body to chemistry and technology.
Whether new research will become the definitive model remains to be seen, however, and according to some scientists, to put a period at the end of life's genesis may even defy the point.
'As scientists in general and chemists in particular, we should be ecstatic that origin of life has given us a perpetual “question machine” that tosses out fundamental questions for us to discuss, debate and research,' scientist Ashutosh Jogalekar told Scientific American.
'Origins of life like few other conundrums in science promises an infinity of riches.'
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