Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 25: Posters: DNA/RNA and related enzymes

BP 25.1: Poster

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 14:00–16:00, Poster A

Polymerization of RNA in a non-equilibrium environment — •Matthias Morasch, Christof B. Mast, and Dieter Braun — Systems Biophysics, LMU Munich, Germany

The polymerization of nucleotides to long chains of RNA was very likely a crucial step towards the evolution of life. There is, however, a large variety of possible nucleotides that require very different conditions in order to polymerize efficiently. These range e.g. from dry conditions at elevated temperatures to dry-wet cycles in lipid environments and to aqueous solutions in combination with a catalyst. We investigate different polymerization conditions for cyclic nucleotides, in particular 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which might have the ability to polymerize in the dry state as well as in an aqueous environment. So far, we could proof that drying cGMP at elevated temperatures triggers its polymerization to 40 mers and longer.

While the drying process facilitates the formation of long polymers due to high local concentrations and the absence of water, a polymerization in an aqueous environment is a more cumbersome task. Especially the polymerization of pairing bases has to be accomplished for a prebiotic evolution. Theory shows that non-equilibrium conditions in form of a temperature gradient should allow the enhanced polymerization from cyclic nucleotides in a thermophoretic molecule trap. The local accumulation of monomers shift the polymerization towards ever longer RNA. It appears possible that RNA polymerization can be triggered using purely physical means without using any catalysts or highly tuned activation chemistry of the monomer.