Sáenz Lab Wiki

Prebiotic foam environments to oligomerize and accumulate RNA

2 min read

Prebiotic foam environments to oligomerize and accumulate RNA

Tekin, E.; Salditt, A.; Schwintek, P.; Wunnava, S.; Langlais, J.; Sáenz, J.; Tang, D.; Schwille, P.; Mast, C.; Braun, D. (2022) ChemBioChem, 23(24), e202200423. DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200423

Summary

This collaborative study with Dieter Braun’s group (LMU Munich), to which we contributed lipid expertise, explored lipid-stabilized foams as prebiotic environments for RNA chemistry. When water interacts with porous rocks, air bubbles form at gas-water interfaces. We showed that lipid-stabilized foams with thermal gradients can accumulate, aggregate, and oligomerize RNA — offering a compelling habitat for RNA-based early life. The prebiotically probable myristic acid stabilized foams for hours. Wet-dry cycles at foam bubble interfaces triggered non-enzymatic RNA oligomerization from cyclic nucleotide monomers, outperforming the corresponding bulk dry reaction.

Key Findings

  • Lipid-stabilized foams create extensive gas-water interfaces with wet-dry cycles at bubble surfaces — conditions that favor non-enzymatic polymerization.
  • Myristic acid (a prebiotically plausible fatty acid) stabilized foams over many hours.
  • Capillary flow driven by evaporation at water-air interfaces concentrated and selected molecules by size.
  • Self-binding oligonucleotide sequences accumulated and formed micrometer-sized aggregates shuttled between gas bubbles.
  • Non-enzymatic RNA oligomerization from 2’,3’-cyclic CMP and GMP was more efficient in foam than in bulk dry reactions, despite smaller reaction volumes.

Our Contribution

Our group contributed expertise on lipid membrane chemistry, particularly the selection and characterization of lipid species for foam stabilization.

Significance

This paper connects to the RNA-lipid interaction theme by placing lipid membranes at the interface of prebiotic RNA chemistry. Foams stabilized by simple lipids provide a physically realistic prebiotic environment where RNA can be concentrated and polymerized — adding a spatial dimension to the RNA World hypothesis.

Graph View

Backlinks