A Peptide–Nucleic Acid Replicator Origin for Life
Bernard Piette, Jonathan G. Heddle
Abstract
Evolution requires self-replication. But, what was the very first self-replicator directly ancestral to all life? The currently favoured RNA World theory assigns this role to RNA alone but suffers from a number of seemingly intractable problems. Instead, we suggest that the self-replicator consisted of both peptides and nucleic acid strands. Such a nucleopeptide replicator is more feasible both in the light of the replication machinery currently found in cells and the complexity of the evolutionary path required to reach them. Recent theoretical and mathematical work supports this idea and provide a blueprint for future investigations.
Topics & Concepts
RibozymeRNAAbiogenesisBiologyRNA world hypothesisLigase ribozymeComputational biologyGeneticsNucleic acidPolymeraseProtocellEvolutionary biologyGeneMembraneOrigins and Evolution of LifeRNA and protein synthesis mechanismsDNA and Biological Computing