On the origin and early evolution of biological catalysis and other studies on chemical evolution

摘要

One of the lines of research in molecular evolution which we have developed for the past three years is related to the experimental and theoretical study of the origin and early evolution of biological catalysis. In an attempt to understand the nature of the first peptidic catalysts and coenzymes, we have achieved the non-enzymatic synthesis of the coenzymes ADPG, GDPG, and CDP-ethanolamine, under conditions considered to have been prevalent on the primitive Earth. We have also accomplished the prebiotic synthesis of histidine, as well as histidyl-histidine, and we have measured the enhancing effects of this catalytic dipeptide on the dephosphorylation of deoxyribonucleotide monophosphates, the hydrolysis of oligo A, and the oligomerization 2', 3' cAMP. We reviewed and further developed the hypothesis that RNA preceded double stranded DNA molecules as a reservoir of cellular genetic information. This led us to undertake the study of extant RNA polymerases in an attempt to discover vestigial sequences preserved from early Archean times. In addition, we continued our studies of on the chemical evolution of organic compounds in the solar system and beyond.