Open AccessRevisiting the Extinction of the RNA World
Author(s) -
Anthony Forster
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.43
H-Index - 253
eISSN - 1520-4995
pISSN - 0006-2960
DOI - 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00121
Subject(s) - rna , ribozyme , dna , chemistry , covalent bond , membrane , biochemistry , rna world hypothesis , combinatorial chemistry , biophysics , biology , gene , organic chemistry
The ribozyme world is thought to have evolved the burdensome complexity of peptide and protein synthesis because the 20 amino acid side chains are catalytically superior. Instead, I propose that the Achilles heel of the RNA world that led to the extinction of riboorganisms was RNA's polyanionic charges that could not be covalently neutralized stably by phosphotriester formation. These charges prevented development of hydrophobic cores essential for integration into membranes and many enzymatic reactions. In contrast, the phosphotriester modification of DNA is stable. So, the fact that the charge was never removed in DNA evolution gives further credence to proteins coming before DNA.