Summary
We have tested the effect of a nonstereoregular (atactic) template, based on the acyclic nucleotide analog\(p\tilde Cp\), on the oligomerization of the complementary bis-phosphoimidazolide monomer,\(Imp\tilde GpIm\). Although there is little catalysis when the template is added together with magnesium ions, the substitution of manganese for magnesium produces a substantial increase in the extent of oligomerization as well as increasing the effect of the template. These results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that prochiral nucleotide analogs may have been precursors to the first RNA molecules.
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Abbreviations
- Ã:
-
9-[(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl]adenine
- \(\tilde G\) :
-
9-[(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl]guanine
- \(Imp\tilde GpIm\) :
-
the bisphosphoimidazolide of\(\tilde G\)
- \(\tilde C\) :
-
1-[(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl]cytosine
- \(p\tilde Cp\) :
-
the bisphosphate of\(\tilde C\)
- \(cp\tilde Cp\) :
-
the cyclic pyrophosphate formed from\(p\tilde Cp\)
- CTP:
-
cytidine 5′-triphosphate
- EDAC:
-
1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride
- EDTA:
-
ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid
- TEAB:
-
triethylammonium bicarbonate
- Tris:
-
tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane
References
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Visscher, J., Schwartz, A.W. Template-catalyzed oligomerization with an atactic glycerol-based polynucleotide analog. J Mol Evol 31, 163–166 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02109491
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02109491