UCL chemists have shown how the two most basic ingredients of biology, RNA (rhinoclinic acid) and amino acids, can join the origin of life four billion years ago.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, the “work horse” of life is essential to the process of every life. But proteins cannot copy or create themselves – they need instructions. These instructions are provided by the RNA, a close chemical cousin of DNA (Doctribonocalic acid).
In a new research, which appeared NatureResearchers have chemically linked the amino acids of life to the RNA, which can be located on the early earth.
Professor Matthew Ponder, senior author of the UCL Department of Chemistry, said: “Life relies on the ability to synthesize protein – they are the key active molecules of life. It is basic to understand the origin of protein synthesis to understand where life has come from.
“Our study is a huge step towards the purpose, which shows how RNA has first come to control the synthesis of protein.
“Life today uses a very complex molecular machine, ribosome, protein synthesis. This machine requires chemical instructions written in Messenger RNA, in which the gene layout is transmitted from the cell’s DNA to the ribosom.
“We have achieved the first part of this complex process, using the most simple chemistry in the neutral patch to connect the amino acids to the RNA. Chemistry is selected, selected and located on the initial ground.”
Extreme reaction molecules were used in the previous attempts to connect amino acids to RNA, but they were broken into the water and caused amino acids to react with each other rather than connected to the RNA.
For new research, researchers were infected with organisms, using a soft way to convert life’s amino acids into a reaction form. This activation included a thester, a high -energy chemical mixture that is important in many biochemical processes of life and has already been created to play its role at the beginning of life.
Professor Puneder said: “Our study unites two prominent origin of life theories.” RNA World “, where self -styled RNA is proposed to be fundamental, and ‘Thester World’, in which theater is seen as a source of energy for the early forms of life.”
The Thesters Reacts with the Amino acid sulfur bearing compound, called Pentitin. Last year, the same team published a dissertation showing that pentanine could be synthesized in early conditions like Earth, which shows that it is likely to play a role in starting life.
In the next step, the researchers said, it was to set up that RNA setting can preferentially tie specific amino acids, so that RNA can start making instructions codes for protein synthesis – the origin of the genetic code.
“Before we completely clarify the origin of life, there are numerous problems to overcome it, but the most difficult and interesting thing is the beginning of protein synthesis.”
Dr. Jyoti Singh, a leading author from UCL Chemistry, said: “Imagine the day that chemists can take simple, small molecules, including carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur atoms, and these Lego’s pieces are reinforced.
“Our study brings us closer to the purpose of how two ancient chemical lego pieces (activated amino acids and RNAs) can make peptides ** short chains of amino acids that are essential for life.
“Particularly the groundwater is that the activated amino acids used in this study is a theasister, a type of quinzium A, which is found in all living cells. This discovery could potentially add metabolism, genetic code and protein building.”
Although this dissertation is fully focused on chemistry, the investigating team said that the reaction they have reacted can be diligent in the ponds or lakes of water (but it is unlikely that the concentration of chemicals in the oceans will be reduced to much).
This reaction was very few to see with a visible light microscope and were traced to the use of numerous techniques used to investigate the structure of the molecules, which many types of magnetic resonance imaging (which shows that the atoms are arranged).
Note
*Nobel laureate Christian de Doo suggested that life began with a “Thesterious World”-the first theory of a metabolism that was conceptualized by the concept of life was launched by a chemical reaction, which began with an energy-operated chemical reaction to the tossors.
** peptides usually contain two to 50 amino acids, while proteins are large, often hundreds or even thousands of amino acids, and are added to 3D format. As part of their study, the research team showed that, once the amino acids were loaded on RNA, they could synthesize with other amino acids to make peptides.
The work was financed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the System Foundation and the Royal Society.
