According to the “RNA world” model of life’s origin, RNA performed all of the operations that are essential to life. RNA alone passed on genetic information and catalyzed the reactions of basic metabolism; DNA and proteins were not in the picture. The RNA world hypothesis is an appealingly simple model for simple early life forms, since it allows the complex array of biochemical interactions among proteins, DNA, and RNA to evolve gradually.

Our current natural world no longer uses RNA enzymes that act on their own to perform most biological functions. To better understand ancient RNA enzymes, modern scientists have to rely on proxies, like engineered RNA “ribozymes” that have catalytic functions without the need for proteins. However, scientists have had trouble creating a proxy for the first self-replicating molecule, or even an RNA ribozyme that can copy an RNA that’s long enough to have further biological functions. Aniela Wochner and her coauthors have overcome that difficulty. In a recent issue of Science, they report the creation of an RNA ribozyme that synthesizes complex RNAs, including RNAs that act as ribozymes and perform a biological function.

Previously, the leading RNA polymerase ribozyme, called R18, could only transcribe RNAs up to 14 bases long (as a frame of reference, R18 itself is about 196 bases long). It was also highly template-dependent, meaning it could only copy certain sequences of RNA. To establish early life on Earth, a ribozyme would need to be able to make a variety of RNA sequences of adequate length, including something long enough to synthesize itself. Wochner and her colleagues sought to engineer a superior RNA ribozyme by modifying R18.

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