Abstract
Since RNA possesses both genetic information and catalytic abilities, it is a potential biopolymer that is thought to support primordial life before the present DNA-protein system. There were multiple sources that provided the building blocks of RNA and facilitated its synthesis on the prebiotic Earth. However, it remains unclear whether these sources provided a sufficient amount of building blocks. Moreover, several aspects of spontaneous construction of RNA, such as formation of glycosidic bonds and phosphoester bonds between building blocks, are yet to be elucidated. Nevertheless, recent studies have provided a number of insights into the spontaneous formation of RNA on the prebiotic Earth.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Becker S, Thoma I, Deutsch A, Gehrke T, Mayer P, Zipse H, Carell T (2016) A high-yielding, strictly regioselective prebiotic purine nucleoside formation pathway. Science 352(6287):833–836. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad2808
Burcar B, Pasek M, Gull M, Cafferty BJ, Velasco F, Hud NV, Menor-Salván C (2016) Darwin’s warm little pond: a one-pot reaction for prebiotic phosphorylation and the mobilization of phosphate from minerals in a urea-based solvent. Angew Chem Int Ed 55(42):13249–13253. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201606239
Butlerow A (1860) Ueber ein neues Methylenderivat. Justus Liebigs Ann Chem 115(3):322–327. https://doi.org/10.1002/jlac.18601150325
Callahan MP, Smith KE, Cleaves HJ, Ruzicka J, Stern JC, Glavin DP, House CH, Dworkin JP (2011) Carbonaceous meteorites contain a wide range of extraterrestrial nucleobases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(34):13995–13998. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1106493108
Cooper G, Rios AC (2016) Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113(24):E3322–E3331. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1603030113
Cooper G, Kimmich N, Belisle W, Sarinana J, Brabham K, Garrel L (2001) Carbonaceous meteorites as a source of sugar-related organic compounds for the early Earth. Nature 414(6866):879–883
Costanzo G, Pino S, Ciciriello F, Di Mauro E (2009) Generation of long RNA chains in water. J Biol Chem 284(48):33206–33216. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M109.041905
Engelhart AE, Hud NV (2010) Primitive genetic polymers. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2(12):a002196. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a002196
Ferris JP, Hill AR, Liu R, Orgel LE (1996) Synthesis of long prebiotic oligomers on mineral surfaces. Nature 381(6577):59–61
Fuller WD, Orgel LE, Sanchez RA (1972) Studies in prebiotic synthesis 7: solid-state synthesis of purine nucleosides. J Mol Evol 1(3):249. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01660244
Furukawa Y, Kakegawa T (2017) Borate and the origin of RNA: a model for the precursors to life. Elements 13(4):261–265. https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.13.4.261
Furukawa Y, Horiuchi M, Kakegawa T (2013) Selective stabilization of ribose by borate. Orig Life Evol Biosph 43(4–5):353–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-013-9350-5
Furukawa Y, Nakazawa H, Sekine T, Kobayashi T, Kakegawa T (2015) Nucleobase and amino acid formation through impacts of meteorites on the early ocean. Earth Planet Sci Lett 429:216–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.07.049
Grew ES, Bada JL, Hazen RM (2011) Borate minerals and origin of the RNA world. Orig Life Evol Biosph 41(4):307–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-010-9233-y
Gull M, Mojica MA, Fernández FM, Gaul DA, Orlando TM, Liotta CL, Pasek MA (2015) Nucleoside phosphorylation by the mineral schreibersite. Sci Rep 5:17198. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17198. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep17198#supplementary-information
Isozaki Y, Yamamoto S, Sakata S, Obayashi H, Hirata T, Obori K-i, Maebayashi T, Takeshima S, Ebisuzaki T, Maruyama S (2017) High-reliability zircon separation for hunting the oldest material on Earth: an automatic zircon separator with image-processing/microtweezers-manipulating system and double-step dating. Geosci Front. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2017.04.010
Joyce GF, Orgel LE (1993) Prospects for understanding the origin of the RNA world. In the RNA world. In: Gesteland RF, Atkins JF (eds) The RNA world. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, pp 1–25
Kasting JF (1993) Earth’s early atmosphere. Science 259(5097):920–926
Kim H-J, Benner SA (2017) Prebiotic stereoselective synthesis of purine and noncanonical pyrimidine nucleotide from nucleobases and phosphorylated carbohydrates. Proc Natl Acad Sci 114(43):11315–11320. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710778114
Kim H-J, Ricardo A, Illangkoon HI, Kim MJ, Carrigan MA, Frye F, Benner SA (2011) Synthesis of carbohydrates in mineral-guided prebiotic cycles. J Am Chem Soc 133(24):9457–9468. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja201769f
Kim H-J, Furukawa Y, Kakegawa T, Bita A, Scorei R, Benner SA (2016) Evaporite borate-containing mineral ensembles make phosphate available and regiospecifically phosphorylate ribonucleosides: borate as a multifaceted problem solver in prebiotic chemistry. Angew Chem Int Ed 55(51):15816–15820. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201608001
Lambert JB, Gurusamy-Thangavelu SA, Ma KBA (2010) The silicate-mediated formose reaction: bottom-up synthesis of sugar silicates. Science 327(5968):984–986. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182669
Larralde R, Robertson MP, Miller SL (1995) Rates of decomposition of ribose and other sugars: implications for chemical evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92(18):8158–8160. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.92.18.8158
Lohrmann R, Orgel LE (1971) Urea-inorganic phosphate mixtures as prebiotic phosphorylating agents. Science 171(3970):490. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.171.3970.490
Martins Z, Botta O, Fogel ML, Sephton MA, Glavin DP, Watson JS, Dworkin JP, Schwartz AW, Ehrenfreund P (2008) Extraterrestrial nucleobases in the Murchison meteorite. Earth Planet Sci Lett 270(1–2):130–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.03.026
Meinert C, Myrgorodska I, de Marcellus P, Buhse T, Nahon L, Hoffmann SV, d’Hendecourt LLS, Meierhenrich UJ (2016) Ribose and related sugars from ultraviolet irradiation of interstellar ice analogs. Science 352(6282):208–212. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad8137
Mishima S, Ohtomo Y, Kakegawa T (2016) Occurrence of tourmaline in metasedimentary rocks of the isua supracrustal belt, Greenland: implications for ribose stabilization in hadean marine sediments. Orig Life Evol Biosph 46(2):247–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-015-9474-x
Morasch M, Mast CB, Langer JK, Schilcher P, Braun D (2014) Dry polymerization of 3′,5′-cyclic GMP to long strands of RNA. Chembiochem 15(6):879–883. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.201300773
Mungi CV, Rajamani S (2015) Characterization of RNA-like oligomers from lipid-assisted nonenzymatic synthesis: implications for origin of informational molecules on early Earth. Life 5(1):65–84. https://doi.org/10.3390/life5010065
Nitta S, Furukawa Y, Kakegawa T (2016) Effects of silicate, phosphate, and calcium on the stability of aldopentoses. Orig Life Evol Biosph 46(2–3):189–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-015-9472-z
Orgel LE (2004) Prebiotic chemistry and the origin of the RNA world. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 39(2):99–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409230490460765
Oró J, Kimball AP (1961) Synthesis of purines under possible primitive earth conditions. I. Adenine from hydrogen cyanide. Arch Biochem Biophys 94(2):217–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-9861(61)90033-9
Pasek MA, Lauretta DS (2005) Aqueous corrosion of phosphide minerals from iron meteorites: a highly reactive source of prebiotic phosphorus on the surface of the early Earth. Astrobiology 5(4):515–535
Pasek MA, Harnmeijer JP, Buick R, Gull M, Atlas Z (2013) Evidence for reactive reduced phosphorus species in the early Archean ocean. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(25):10089–10094. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1303904110
Ponnamperuma C, Mack R (1965) Nucleotide synthesis under possible primitive earth conditions. Science 148(3674):1221–1223. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.148.3674.1221
Powner MW, Gerland B, Sutherland JD (2009) Synthesis of activated pyrimidine ribonucleotides in prebiotically plausible conditions. Nature 459(7244):239–242 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v459/n7244/suppinfo/nature08013_S1.html
Prieur BE (2001) Étude de l’activité prébiotique potentielle de l’acide borique. C R Acad Sci Paris Chim Chem 4(8–9):667–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1387-1609(01)01266-x
Rajamani S, Vlassov A, Benner S, Coombs A, Olasagasti F, Deamer D (2008) Lipid-assisted synthesis of rna-like polymers from mononucleotides. Orig Life Evol Biosph 38(1):57–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-007-9113-2
Ricardo A, Carrigan MA, Olcott AN, Benner SA (2004) Borate minerals stabilize ribose. Science 303(5655):196–196
Robertson MP, Miller SL (1995) An efficient prebiotic synthesis of cytosine and uracil. Nature 375(6534):772–774. https://doi.org/10.1038/375772a0
Sanchez RA, Orgel LE (1970) Studies in prebiotic synthesis: V. Synthesis and photoanomerization of pyrimidine nucleosides. J Mol Biol 47(3):531–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-2836(70)90320-7
Sanchez RA, Ferris JP, Orgel LE (1966) Cyanoacetylene in prebiotic synthesis. Science 154(3750):784. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.154.3750.784
Schneider KC, Benner SA (1990) Oligonucleotides containing flexible nucleoside analogs. J Am Chem Soc 112(1):453–455. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00157a073
Schoffstall AM (1976) Prebiotic phosphorylation of nucleosides in formamide. Orig Life Evol Biosph 7(4):399–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00927935
Scorei R, Cimpoiasu VM (2006) Boron enhances the thermostability of carbohydrates. Orig Life Evol Biosph 36(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-005-0562-1
Verlander MS, Lohrmann R, Orgel LE (1973) Catalysts for the self-polymerization of adenosine cyclic 2′,3′-phosphate. J Mol Evol 2(4):303–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01654098
Acknowledgment
The author appreciates S. A. Benner and H-J. Kim for discussion on prebiotic chemistry and T. Kakegawa for discussion on Hadean geology. The author wishes to acknowledge JSPS KAKENHI (15K13588 and 15H03752) for financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Furukawa, Y. (2019). RNA Synthesis Before the Origin of Life. In: Yamagishi, A., Kakegawa, T., Usui, T. (eds) Astrobiology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3639-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3639-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3638-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3639-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)