Molecular Origins of Life, Munich 2021

Session

Session II

Aug 25, 2021, 12:00 PM

Online

20. Coacervate droplets as viable protocell models

Dora Tang (MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics)

8/25/21, 12:00 PM

In the 1920’s Oparin hypothesized that membrane free compartments formed by coacervation would have provided a viable route to compartmentalize prebiotic reactions as a precursor to the modern cell. Studies which support this hypothesis are limited in that the precise chemical composition and conditions on prebiotic earth remain a mystery. Despite this, using bottom-up approaches allows us to...

14. On the prebiotic synthesis of non-canonical nucleosides

Matthew Powner (UCL)

8/25/21, 12:25 PM

The structure of life’s first genetic polymer is a question of ongoing debate. The “RNA world theory” suggests RNA was life’s first nucleic acid, however ribonucleotides are complex chemical structures and simpler nucleic acids, such as threose nucleic acid (TNA), can carry genetic information. In principle, nucleic acids like TNA could have played a vital role in the origins of life, but the...