Unified prebiotically plausible synthesis of pyrimidine and purine RNA ribonucleotides - PubMed

Affiliations

• PMID: 31604305
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aax2747

Unified prebiotically plausible synthesis of pyrimidine and purine RNA ribonucleotides

Sidney Becker et al. Science. 2019.

Abstract

Theories about the origin of life require chemical pathways that allow formation of life's key building blocks under prebiotically plausible conditions. Complex molecules like RNA must have originated from small molecules whose reactivity was guided by physico-chemical processes. RNA is constructed from purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, both of which are required for accurate information transfer, and thus Darwinian evolution. Separate pathways to purines and pyrimidines have been reported, but their concurrent syntheses remain a challenge. We report the synthesis of the pyrimidine nucleosides from small molecules and ribose, driven solely by wet-dry cycles. In the presence of phosphate-containing minerals, 5'-mono- and diphosphates also form selectively in one-pot reactions. The pathway is compatible with purine synthesis, allowing the concurrent formation of all Watson-Crick bases.

Comment in

• RNA nucleosides built in one prebiotic pot.

  Hud NV, Fialho DM. Hud NV, et al. Science. 2019 Oct 4;366(6461):32-33. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz1130. Science. 2019. PMID: 31604291 No abstract available.

Similar articles

• Selective prebiotic formation of RNA pyrimidine and DNA purine nucleosides.

  Xu J, Chmela V, Green NJ, Russell DA, Janicki MJ, Góra RW, Szabla R, Bond AD, Sutherland JD. Xu J, et al. Nature. 2020 Jun;582(7810):60-66. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2330-9. Epub 2020 Jun 3. Nature. 2020. PMID: 32494078 Free PMC article.

• Catalytic C-H bond functionalisation of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides: a synthetic and mechanistic perspective.

  Gayakhe V, Sanghvi YS, Fairlamb IJ, Kapdi AR. Gayakhe V, et al. Chem Commun (Camb). 2015 Aug 4;51(60):11944-60. doi: 10.1039/c5cc03416g. Chem Commun (Camb). 2015. PMID: 26050746 Review.

• 4'-C-methyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl purine and pyrimidine nucleosides revisited.

  Griffon JF, Dukhan D, Pierra C, Benzaria S, Loi AG, La Colla P, Sommadossi JP, Gosselin G. Griffon JF, et al. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2003 May-Aug;22(5-8):707-9. doi: 10.1081/NCN-120022615. Nucleosides Nucleotides Nucleic Acids. 2003. PMID: 14565259

• Abiotic synthesis of purine and pyrimidine ribonucleosides in aqueous microdroplets.

  Nam I, Nam HG, Zare RN. Nam I, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jan 2;115(1):36-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718559115. Epub 2017 Dec 18. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018. PMID: 29255025 Free PMC article.

• Quantum-mechanical studies on the conformation of nucleic acids and their constituents.

  Pullman B, Saran A. Pullman B, et al. Prog Nucleic Acid Res Mol Biol. 1976;18:215-322. doi: 10.1016/s0079-6603(08)60589-9. Prog Nucleic Acid Res Mol Biol. 1976. PMID: 790473 Review. No abstract available.

Cited by

• Possible Ribose Synthesis in Carbonaceous Planetesimals.

  Paschek K, Kohler K, Pearce BKD, Lange K, Henning TK, Trapp O, Pudritz RE, Semenov DA. Paschek K, et al. Life (Basel). 2022 Mar 10;12(3):404. doi: 10.3390/life12030404. Life (Basel). 2022. PMID: 35330155 Free PMC article.

• Ribosome Evolution and Structural Capacitance.

  Buckle AM, Buckle M. Buckle AM, et al. Front Mol Biosci. 2019 Nov 14;6:123. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2019.00123. eCollection 2019. Front Mol Biosci. 2019. PMID: 31803754 Free PMC article.

• The Coevolution of Biomolecules and Prebiotic Information Systems in the Origin of Life: A Visualization Model for Assembling the First Gene.

  Chatterjee S, Yadav S. Chatterjee S, et al. Life (Basel). 2022 Jun 2;12(6):834. doi: 10.3390/life12060834. Life (Basel). 2022. PMID: 35743865 Free PMC article. Review.

• Borate-guided ribose phosphorylation for prebiotic nucleotide synthesis.

  Hirakawa Y, Kakegawa T, Furukawa Y. Hirakawa Y, et al. Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 19;12(1):11828. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15753-y. Sci Rep. 2022. PMID: 35853897 Free PMC article.

• The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions.

  Preiner M, Asche S, Becker S, Betts HC, Boniface A, Camprubi E, Chandru K, Erastova V, Garg SG, Khawaja N, Kostyrka G, Machné R, Moggioli G, Muchowska KB, Neukirchen S, Peter B, Pichlhöfer E, Radványi Á, Rossetto D, Salditt A, Schmelling NM, Sousa FL, Tria FDK, Vörös D, Xavier JC. Preiner M, et al. Life (Basel). 2020 Feb 26;10(3):20. doi: 10.3390/life10030020. Life (Basel). 2020. PMID: 32110893 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Atypon
  • Ovid Technologies, Inc.