Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-95kd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-09-15T03:57:37.969Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Abiotic formation of RNA-like oligomers by montmorillonite catalysis: part II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2008

Gözen Ertem ,
Ann M. Snellinger-O'Brien ,
M. C. Ertem ,
D. A. Rogoff ,
Jason P. Dworkin ,
Murray V. Johnston  and
Robert M. Hazen
Gözen Ertem
Affiliation:
Geophysical Laboratory and NASA Astrobiology Institute, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA Astrochemistry Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Ann M. Snellinger-O'Brien
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
M. C. Ertem
Affiliation:
University Research Foundation, Maryland Advanced Development Laboratory, Greenbelt, MD 20770
D. A. Rogoff
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Jason P. Dworkin
Affiliation:
Astrochemistry Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Murray V. Johnston
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Robert M. Hazen
Affiliation:
Geophysical Laboratory and NASA Astrobiology Institute, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This work is an extension of our previous studies carried out to investigate the possible catalytic role of minerals in the abiotic synthesis of biologically important molecules. In the presence of montmorillonite, a member of the phyllosilicate group minerals that are abundant on Earth and identified on Mars, activated RNA monomers, namely 5′-phosphorimidazolides of nucleosides (ImpNs), undergo condensation reactions in aqueous electrolyte solution producing oligomers with similar structures to short RNA fragments. Analysis of the linear trimer isomers formed in the reaction of a mixture of activated adenosine and cytidine monomers (ImpA and ImpC, respectively) employing high-performance liquid chromatography, selective enzymatic hydrolysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy molecular weight measurements demonstrate that montmorillonite catalysis facilitates the formation of hetero-isomers containing 56% A- and 44% C-monomer incorporated in their structure. The results also show that 56% of the monomer units are linked together by RNA-like 3′, 5′-phosphodiester bonds. These results follow the same trend observed in our most recent work studying the reaction of activated adenosine and uridine monomers, and support Bernal's hypothesis proposing the possible catalytic role of minerals in the abiotic processes in the course of chemical evolution.

Keywords

chemical evolutionHPLCMALDI-MSmineral catalysismontmorilloniteoligonucleotidesRNA

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Banin, A., Lawless, J.G., Mazzurco, J., Church, F.M., Margulies, L. & Orenberg, J.B. (1985). pH profile of the adsorption of nucleotides onto montmorillonite. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 15, 89–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernal, J.D. (1949). The Physical Basis of Life. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 62, 537–558.Google Scholar
Bibring, J.-P., Langevin, Y., Gendrin, A., Gondet, B., Poulet, F., Berthé, M., Soufflot, A., Arvidson, A., Mangold, N., Mustard, J., Drossart, P. & the OMEGA team. (2005). Mars surface diversity as revealed by the OMEGA/Mars Express observations. Science 307, 1576–1581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brindley, G.W. & Ertem, G. (1971). Preparation and solvation properties of some variable charge montmorillonites. Clays Clay Min. 19, 399–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ertem, G. (2004). Montmorillonite, oligonucleotides, RNA and origin of life. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 34, 549–570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ertem, G. & Ferris, J.P. (1998). Formation of oligomers on montmorillonite: site of catalysis. Origin Life Evol. Biosphere 28, 485–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ertem, G. & Ferris, J.P. (2000). Sequence and regio-selectivity in the montmorillonite-catalyzed synthesis of RNA. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 30, 411–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ertem, G, Hazen, R.M. & Dworkin, J.P. (2007): Sequence analysis of trimer isomers formed by montmorillonite catalysis in the reaction of binary monomer mixtures. Astrobiology 5(7), 715–722.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, J.P. (2006). Montmorillonite-catalysed formation of RNA oligomers: the possible role of catalysis in the origins of life. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 361, 1777–1786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferris, J.P. & Ertem, G. (1993). Montmorillonite catalysis of RNA oligomer formation in aqueous solution. A model for the prebiotic formation of RNA. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 12 270–12 275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, J.P., Ertem, G. & Agarwal, V. (1989). Mineral catalysis of the formation of dimers of 5′-AMP in aqueous solution: the possible role of montmorillonite clays in the prebiotic synthesis of RNA. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 19, 165–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferris, J.P. & Usher, D.A. (1988). In Biochemistry, 2nd edn, G., Zubay, pp. 1120–1151. MacMillan, New York.Google Scholar
Kanavarioti, A. (1997). Dimerization in highly concentrated solutions of phospho-imidazolide activated mononucleotides. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 27, 357–376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kanavarioti, A., Bernasconi, C.F., Doodokyan, D.L. & Alberas, D.J. (1989). Magnesium ion catalyzed phosphorus-nitrogen bond hydrolysis in imidazole-activated nucleotides. Relevance to template directed synthesis of polynucleotides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 111, 7247–7257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohrmann, R., Bridson, P.K. & Orgel, L.E. (1980). Efficient metal-ion catalyzed template-directed oligonucleotide synthesis. Science 208, 1464–1465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyakawa, S. & Ferris, J.P. (2003). Sequence- and regioselectivity in the montmorillonite-catalyzed synthesis of RNA. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 8202–8208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, C.S. & Hendricks, S.B. (1945). Minerals of the montmorillonite group, their origin and relation to soils and clays. Professional Paper 205-B, US Geological Survey, pp. 23–79.Google Scholar
Schwartz, A.W. & Orgel, L.E. (1985). Template directed synthesis of novel, nucleic acid-like structures. Science 228, 585–587.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, R. (2006). Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of life. Q. Rev. Biol. 81, 105–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sonveaux, E. (1986). The Organic Chemistry Underlying DNA Synthesis. Bioorganic Chemistry 14, 274–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar