Abstract
Some properties of DNA condensed with spermidine have been compared with the properties of DNA condensed with Co3+(NH3)6 to determine whether condensation of DNA with these trivalent cations protects DNA against the action of DNase I and increases transcription and encapsulation of DNA into liposomes. It was shown that DNA condensed with Co3+(NH3)6 was resistant to the action of the endonuclease DNase I such as DNA condensed with spermidine was. However, DNA condensed with Co3+(NH3)6 was significantly less active in transcription with theE. coli RNA polymerase than DNA-spermidine condensed forms. In addition, it was demonstrated that both compacted forms of DNA were more efficiently encapsulated into neutral liposomes; however, negatively, charged liposomes were scarcely formed in the presence of DNA condensed with Co3+(NH3)6. These experiments and the well documented properties of polyamines increasing the resistance to radiations and hydrolysis of nucleic acids, as well as their biological activities, such as replication, transcription, and translation, together with the low concentration of Co3+ in the environment, lead us to propose spermidine as a plausible prebiotic DNA condensing agent rather than Co3+ and the basic proteins proposed by other authors. Then, we consider the possible role and relevance of the polyamine-nucleic acids complexes in the evolution of life.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abraham, A. K., and Pihl, A.: 1981,TIBS 28, 106–107.
Allison, S. A., Herr, J. C., and Schurr, M.: 1981,Biopolymers 20, 469–488.
Baeza, I., Ibáñez, M., Lazcano, A., Santiago, J. C., Argüello, C., Wong, C., and Oró, J.: 1987a,Origins of Life 17, 321–331.
Baeza, I., Gariglio, P., Rangel, L. M., Chávez, P., Cervantes, L., Argüello, C., Wong, C., and Montañéz, C.: 1987b,Biochemistry 26, 6387–6392.
Baeza, I., Montañéz, C., Santiago, J. C., Delgado, P., Ibáñez, M., and Wong, C.: 1988,Rev. Latamer. Microbiol. 30, 289–295.
Baeza, I., Ibáñez, M., Santiago, J. C., Argüello, C., Wong, C, and Oró, J.: 1990,J. Mol. Evol. 31, 453–461.
Birnboinm, H. and Doly, C.: 1979,Nucleic Acids Res. 7, 1513–1523.
Boyton, A., Whitfield, J. F., and Walker, P. R.: 1980, in J. M. Gaugas (eds.),Polyamines in Biochemical Research. J. Wiley & Sons, New York, Brisbane, Toronto, pp. 63–80.
Bridson, P. K. and Orgel, L. E.: 1980,J. Mol. Biol. 144, 567–577.
Bocian, E., Rosiek, O., and Ziembra-Aoltowski, B.: 1978,Bull. Acad. Pol. Sci. 26, 639–643.
Bottoger, F., Vantgent, M., and Prices, C.: 1961,Anal. Chim. Acta 24, 203–204.
Burgess, R. R. and Jendrisak, J. J.: 1975,Biochemistry 14, 4634–4638.
Burton, K.: 1956,Biochem. J. 62, 315–323.
Deamer, D. W. and Oró, J.: 1980,BioSystems 12, 167–175.
Dubochet, J., Ducommun, M., Zollinger, M., and Kellenberg, E.: 1971,J. Ultrastruct. Res. 35, 147–167.
Duschak, V. G. and Goldemberg, S. H.: 1987,Biochim. Biophys. Acta 910, 21–26.
Ferro, V. and Ham, B.: 1960,Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 33, 545–549.
Flink, I. and Pettijhon, D. E.: 1975,Nature (London) 253, 62–64.
Fraley, R., Subramani, S., Berg, P., and Papahadjopoulos, D.: 1980,J. Biol. Chem. 225, 10431–10435.
Gariglio, P., Llopis, R., Oudet, P., and Chambon, P.: (1979),J. Mol. Biol. 131, 75–105.
Gosule, L. C. and Schellman, J. A.: 1978,J. Mol. Biol. 121, 311–326.
Guerrier, T. C., Gardiner, K., Marsh, T., Pace, N., and Altman, S.: 1983,Cell 35, 849–857.
Hargreaves, W. R. and Deamer, D. W.: 1978,Biochemistry 17, 3759–3768.
Hirt, B.: 1967,J. Mol. Biol. 26, 365–369.
Igarashi, K.: 1988,Yakugaku Zasshi 108, 187–208.
Jay, D. G. and Gilbert, W.: 19897,Proc. Zat. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 1978–1980.
Johnson, H. G. and Bach, M. K.: 1966,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 55, 1453–1456.
Kleinschmidt, A. K.: 1968,Methods Enzymol. 12, 361–377.
Krasnow, M. A. and Cozzarelli, N. R.: 1982,J. Biol. Chem. 257, 2687–2693.
Kuosmanen, M. and Poso, H.: 1985,FEBS Lett. 179, 17–20.
Laemmli, U. K.: 1975,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 72, 4288–4292.
Mannino, R. and Gould, F. S.: 1988,BioTechniques 6, 682–690.
Moussatché, N.: 1985,Biochem. Biophys. Acta 826, 113–120.
Pegg, A. E.: 1986,Biochem. J. 234, 249–269.
Pingoud, A., Urbanke, C., Alves, J., Ehbrecht, H. J., Zabeau, M., and Gualerzi, C.: 1984,Biochemistry 23, 5697–5703.
Rao, M., Eichberg, J., and Oró, J.: 1982,J. Mol. Evol. 18, 196–202.
Schuber, F.: 1989,Biochem. J. 260, 1–10.
Shen, C., Miller, S. L., and Oró, J.: 1990,J. Mol. Evol. 31, 167–174.
Shishido, K.: 1985,Biochim. Biophys. Acta 826, 147–150.
Smirnov, I. V., Dimitrov, S. I., and Makarov, V. L.: 1988,J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 5, 1149–1154.
Smith, G. R.: 1981,Cell 24, 599–604.
Szelei, J. and Duda: 1989,Biochem. J. 259, 549–553.
Szoka, F. and Papahadjopoulos, D.: 1978,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 4194–4198.
Tabor, C. and Tabor, H.: 1984,Ann. Rev. Biochem. 53, 749–790.
Tikchonenko, T. I., Glushakova, S. E., Kislina, O. S., Grodnitskaya, N. A., Manykin, A. A., and Naroditsky, B. S.: 1988,Gene 63, 321–330.
Widom, J. and Baldwin, R. L.: 1980,J. Mol. Biol. 144, 431–453.
Wong, C., Santiago, J. C., Rodriguez-Páez, L., Ibáñez, M., Baeza, I., and Oró, J.: 1991,Origins of Life (in press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
In this paper the term condensation is used to mean actually ionic condensation of DNA with Co3+, or with polyamines, which is the terminology used in this specialized field, it does not mean covalent condensation as it would be in the case of chemical polymerization. Another term which is commonly used in this field instead of condensation is compaction or compacted forms, that we are using in some appropriate places.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baeza, I., Ibáñez, M., Wong, C. et al. Possible prebiotic significance of polyamines in the condensation, protection, encapsulation, and biological properties of DNA. Origins Life Evol Biosphere 21, 225–242 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01809858
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01809858