The prebiotic synthesis of N-6-methyladenine, 1-methyladenine and 1-methylhypoxanthine

摘要

The methyl substituted purines N-6-methyladenine and 1-methyladenine occur in modern tRNA and rRNA. This suggests that they may have been important in an earlier period in evolution, such as the RNA world, where they may have been involved in catalytic activity of ribozymes or in storing genetic information. N-6-Methyladenine has been shown to prevent triple strand formation of polynucleotides. This base may therefore have played an important role in early replication systems. 1-Methylhypoxanthine and N-6,N-6-dimethyladenine are also found in tRNA.