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A Fluorescent G‐Quadruplex Sensor for Chemical RNA Copying
Author(s) -
Giurgiu Constantin,
Wright Tom H.,
O'Flaherty Derek K.,
Szostak Jack W.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201805785
Subject(s) - rna , chemistry , fluorescence , ribozyme , g quadruplex , computational biology , ribonucleotide , combinatorial chemistry , prebiotic , chemical biology , nanotechnology , biophysics , biochemistry , biology , dna , nucleotide , materials science , physics , gene , quantum mechanics
Non‐enzymatic RNA replication may have been one of the processes involved in the appearance of life on Earth. Attempts to recreate this process in a laboratory setting have not been successful thus far, highlighting a critical need for finding prebiotic conditions that increase the rate and the yield. Now a highly parallel assay for template directed RNA synthesis is presented that relies on the intrinsic fluorescence of a 2‐aminopurine modified G‐quadruplex. The application of the assay to examine the combined influence of multiple variables including pH, divalent metal concentrations and ribonucleotide concentrations on the copying of RNA sequences is demonstrated. The assay enables a direct survey of physical and chemical conditions, potentially prebiotic, which could enable the chemical replication of RNA.