TITLE: Seeking a plausible prebiotic solution (and solvent) for the origin of RNA
ABSTRACT: The RNA World remains a popular and influential hypothesis in origins of life research. However, prebiotic chemists are still lacking a plausible prebiotic synthesis for RNA. We are investigating the possibility that RNA was preceded by a polymer that would have assembled more easily than RNA (i.e., pre-RNA), and that non-aqueous solvents could have facilitated prebiotic nucleic acid synthesis and replication. In support of these theories, recent experiments have revealed alternative nucleobases that readily form nucleosides with ribose, a property not observed with the nucleobases of extant RNA. Alternative solvents have also been identified that allow nucleoside phosphorylation from water-insoluble minerals, as well as the polymerase-free transfer of information from long nucleic acid duplexes.
