ICTS:32806

RNA Replication during the Origin of Life

(2025). RNA Replication during the Origin of Life. SciVideos. https://scivideos.org/icts-tifr/32806

RNA Replication during the Origin of Life. SciVideos, Sep. 22, 2025, https://scivideos.org/icts-tifr/32806 

          @misc{ scivideos_ICTS:32806,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://scivideos.org/icts-tifr/32806},
            author = {},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {RNA Replication during the Origin of Life},
            publisher = {},
            year = {2025},
            month = {sep},
            note = {ICTS:32806 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/icts-tifr/32806}}
          }
Jack Szostak
Talk numberICTS:32806
Source RepositoryICTS-TIFR

Abstract

In RNA, the G:C base-pair is much stronger than the A:U base-pair. This results in a strong bias for the incorporation of G and C residues in nonenzymatic RNA template copying chemistry. However, work from the Sutherland group on potentially prebiotic nucleotide synthesis has suggested that the 2-thio pyrimidines were the (prebiotic) precursors of the canonical pyrimidines. We have found that the 2-thio-U:A and 2-thio-C:I base-pairs are isomorphic and isoenergetic. As a result, template copying with an alphabet of 2-thio-U, 2-thio-C, adenosine and inosine shows less bias in nucleotide incorporation, while maintaining good fidelity. The convergence of plausible synthetic pathways with optimal template copying chemistry suggests that modern RNA may have been preceded by a primordial version based on related but distinct nucleotides.