The Stability of the RNA Bases: Implications for the Origin of Life

The Stability of the RNA Bases: Implications for the Origin of Life

High-temperature origin-of-life theories require that the components of the first genetic material are stable. We therefore have measured the half-lives for the decomposition of the nucleobases. They have been found to be short on the geologic time scale. At 100 degrees C, the growth temperatures of...

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Veröffentlicht in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1998-07, Vol.95 (14), p.7933-7938
Hauptverfasser: Levy, Matthew, Miller, Stanley L.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Animals
Base Composition
Biochemistry
Biological Sciences
Biology
Biosphere
Chemical bases
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Exobiology
Genes
Half lives
Humans
Hydrolysis
Hypoxia
Nucleobases
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA - chemistry
Temperature
Thermal decomposition
Xanthines
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Zusammenfassung:High-temperature origin-of-life theories require that the components of the first genetic material are stable. We therefore have measured the half-lives for the decomposition of the nucleobases. They have been found to be short on the geologic time scale. At 100 degrees C, the growth temperatures of the hyperthermophiles, the half-lives are too short to allow for the adequate accumulation of these compounds t1/2for A and G ≈ 1 yr; U = 12 yr; C = 19 days). Therefore, unless the origin of life took place extremely rapidly (
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.95.14.7933