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Origin and Persistence of Genetic Material in Prebiotic Habitats. The Possible Role of Nucleic Acid-Clay Complexes

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First Steps in the Origin of Life in the Universe
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Abstract

Everyone agrees that certain specific conditions were required for the evolution of life from non-life, e.g. energy/catalysis sources, a concentration of small precursors of biomolecules, the protection of complex organic molecules once formed, etc. These and other conditions represent a sort of constraint for the possible environment in which life arose. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive that life could have originated in the presence of a high concentration of water (55 M), like that of a primordial ocean, because in these conditions hydrolysis and not polymerization is favoured (Pace, 1991).

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Gallori, E., Franchi, M. (2001). Origin and Persistence of Genetic Material in Prebiotic Habitats. The Possible Role of Nucleic Acid-Clay Complexes. In: Chela-Flores, J., Owen, T., Raulin, F. (eds) First Steps in the Origin of Life in the Universe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1017-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1017-7_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3883-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-1017-7

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