16.–17. Juni 2022
Literaturhaus München
Europe/Berlin Zeitzone

A catalytic RNA that generates GTP

16.06.2022, 15:55
25m
(talks will be broadcasted) (Literaturhaus München)

(talks will be broadcasted)

Literaturhaus München

Salvatorplatz 1 80333 Munich Germany

Sprecher

Ulrich Müller (UCSD, US)

Beschreibung

Synthesis of RNA in early life forms required chemically activated nucleotides, perhaps in the same form of nucleoside 5′-triphosphates (NTPs) as in the contemporary biosphere. Here we show the development of a catalytic RNA (ribozyme) that generates the nucleoside triphosphate guanosine 5′-triphosphate (GTP) from the nucleoside guanosine and the prebiotically plausible cyclic trimetaphosphate (cTmp). Ribozymes were selected from about 1014 different randomized sequences by metabolically coupling the synthesis of 6-thio GTP to primer extension by an RNA polymerase ribozyme within 1016 emulsion droplets. Several functional RNAs were identified, one of which was characterized in more detail. Under optimized reaction conditions, this ribozyme produced GTP at a rate 18,000-fold higher than the uncatalyzed rate, with a turnover of 1.7-fold, and supported the incorporation of GTP into RNA oligomers in tandem with an RNA polymerase ribozyme. We are currently working on improving the low turnover of the GTP synthase ribozyme, with the long-term goal of establishing efficient synthesis of RNA polymers from nucleosides and cTmp. The results are discussed in the context of early life forms.

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