title: The evolution of chromosomes. II. Molecular mechanisms.
abstract: It is likely that there was a phase in evolution when the genome consisted of unlinked RNA genes, separately replicated. In this paper, we suggest molecular mechanisms whereby (i) separate RNA genes could have become linked to form chromosomes, (ii) monocistronic transcripts could have been made from these chromosomes, and (iii) RNA was replaced by DNA as the genetic material.
authors.affiliation: Ecological Modelling Research Group, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szathmáry
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002875:Chromosomes; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA