Indentifing the first genetic molecule will provide the key to understanding the origin of life. RNA is an unlikely candidate but peptide nucleic acid looks promising in the role of primordial genetic material.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Nielsen, P.E., Egholm, M., Berg, R.H., & Buchardt, O. Science 254, 1497–1500 (1991).
Egholm, M., Buchardt, O., Nielsen, P.E., & Berg, R.H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114, 1895–1897 (1992).
Uhlmann, E. & Peyman, A. Chem. Rev. 90, 543–585 (1990).
De Mesmaeker, A et al. Bull. Soc. Chim. Belg. 103, 705–717 (1994).
Sanghvi, Y.S. & Cook, P.D. (eds.) Carbohydrate modifications in antisense research (ACS Symp. 580) American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. (1994).
Betts, L., Josey, J.A., Veal, J.M. & Jordan, S.R. Science 270, 1838–1841 (1995).
Brown, S.C., Thomson, S.A., Veal, J.M. & Davis, D.G. Science 265, 777–780 (1994).
Eriksson, M. & Nielsen, P.E. Nature Struct. Biol. 3, 410–413 (1996).
Rasmussen, H., Kastrup, J.S., Nielsen, J.N., Nielsen, J.M. & Nielsen, P.E. Nature Struct. Biol. 4, 98–100 (1997).
Pitsch, S., Wendeborn, S., Jaun, B. & Eschenmoser, A. Helv. Chim. Acta 76, 2161–2183 (1993).
Eschenmoser, A. & Loewenthal, E. Chem. Soc. Reviews. 21, 1–16 (1992).
Eschenmoser, A. Origins life Evol. Biosphere 24, 389–423 (1994).
Nielsen, P.E. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 23, 323–327 (1993).
Gesteland, R.F. & Atkins, J.F. (eds) The RNA World Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, 1993.
Orgel, L.E. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 52, 9–16 (1987).
Joyce, G.F. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 52, 41–51 (1987).
Joyce, G.F., Schwartz, A.W., Miller, S.L. & Orgel, L.E. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 4398–4402 (1987).
Schneider, K.C. & Benner, S.A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 112, 453–455 (1990).
Fuller, W.D., Sanchez, R.A. & Orgel, L.E. J. Mol. Biol. 67, 25–33 (1972).
Fuller, W.D., Sanchez, R.A. & Orgel, L.E. J. Mol. Evol. 1, 249–257 (1972).
Müller, D. et al. Helv. Chem. Acta 73, 1410–1468 (1990).
Larralde, R., Robertson, M.P. & Miller, S.L. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 8158–8160 (1995).
Keefe, A.D. & Miller, S.L. J. Molec. Evol. 41, 693–702 (1995).
Böhler, C., Nielsen, P.E. & Orgel, L.E. Nature 376, 578–581 (1995).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, S. Peptide nucleic acids and prebiotic chemistry. Nat Struct Mol Biol 4, 167–169 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0397-167
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0397-167
- Springer Nature America, Inc.
This article is cited by
-
Adsorption of Ribose Nucleotides on Manganese Oxides with Varied Mn/O Ratio: Implications for Chemical Evolution
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2011)
-
Self-Propagating β-Sheet Polypeptide Structures as Prebiotic Informational Molecular Entities: The Amyloid World
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2009)
-
Glyoxylate as a Backbone Linkage for a Prebiotic Ancestor of RNA
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2006)
-
Red, cold and dead?
Nature Structural Biology (1997)
-
Through a magnet, clearly
Nature Structural Biology (1997)