Compartmentalised RNA catalysis in membrane-free coacervate protocells.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30194374.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-06072-w and PMC identifier 6128941.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Phase separation of mixtures of oppositely charged polymers provides a simple and direct route to compartmentalisation via complex coacervation, which may have been important for driving primitive reactions as part of the RNA world hypothesis. However, to date, RNA catalysis has not been reconciled with coacervation. Here we demonstrate that RNA catalysis is viable within coacervate microdroplets and further show that these membrane-free droplets can selectively retain longer length RNAs while permitting transfer of lower molecular weight oligonucleotides.
Medical subject headings
- Origin of Life
- RNA, Catalytic