Summary
Pb2+-containing precipitates of mononucleotides form matrices which catalyze the self-condensation of nucleotide 5′-phosphorimidazolides and their condensation with nucleosides. The reactions exhibit base-pairing specificity between matrix nucleotide and substrate, and usually follow the Watson-Crick pairing rules. Although purine polynucleotides do not facilitate the oligomerization of pyrimidine nucleotide monomers in solution, it is interesting that purine-containing matrices do catalyze such a reaction. The significance of the results in the context of the prebiotic evolution of polynucleotides is discussed.
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Abbreviations
- Im:
-
imidazole
- EDTA:
-
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
- A:
-
adenosine
- C:
-
cytidine
- CMe :
-
5-methylcytidine
- Cara :
-
9-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine
- G:
-
guanosine
- I:
-
inosine
- U:
-
uridine
- Uara :
-
9-β-D-arabinofuranosyluracil
- dA:
-
2′-deoxyadenosine
- dC:
-
2′-deoxycytidine
- dG:
-
2′-deoxyguanosine
- T:
-
thymidine
- pN (N = A, C, G, I, U, Uara):
-
ribonucleoside 5′-phosphate
- pdN (dN = dA, dC, dG, T):
-
deoxynucleoside 5′-phosphate
- Np:
-
ribonucleoside 2′(3′)-phosphate
- N>p:
-
nucleoside cyclic 2′,3′-phosphate
- ImpN:
-
5′-phosphorimidazolide of a nucleoside N
- NppN:
-
P1,P2-dinucleoside 5′-diphosphate
- pNp:
-
5′-phosphonucleoside 2′(3′)-phosphate
- N(pN)n (n = 1, 2⋯):
-
oligonucleotide terminated by a free 5′-OH group
- (pN)n (n = 2. 3⋯):
-
oligomers of pN
- (Np)n (n = 2, 3⋯):
-
oligomers of Np
- p2N:
-
nucleoside 5′-diphosphate
- p3N:
-
nucleoside 5′-triphosphate
- poly(N):
-
polynucleotide derived from N. (Pb-pN) or (Np-Pb), matrix formed by precipitation of a nucleoside pN or Np, respectively, with Pb2+ ions
- e.g.\(\mathop U\limits^* \) 3pU:
-
[2-14 C]-uridylyl-[3′ → 5′]-uridine
- OD:
-
optical density units measured at 259 nm
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The numbers given as superscripts between the symbols of a nucleoside and a phosphate indicate the type of internucleotide linkage e.g. A2pA is adenylyl-[2′ → 5′]-adenosine; a star above the symbol for a nucleoside indicates the position of a radioactive label
The numbers given as superscripts between the symbols of a nucleoside and a phosphate indicate the type of internucleotide linkage e.g. A2pA is adenylyl-[2′ → 5′]-adenosine; a star above the symbol for a nucleoside indicates the position of a radioactive label
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Lohrmann, R. Oligonucleotide formation catalyzed by mononucleotide matrices. J Mol Evol 18, 185–195 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733045
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733045