title: Chemical primer extension: individual steps of spontaneous replication.
abstract: The replication of genetic information, as we know it from today's biology, relies on template-directed, polymerase-catalyzed extension of primers. It is known that short stretches of complementary RNA can form on templates in the absence of enzymes. This account summarizes recent work on efficient enzyme-free primer extension, both with 3'-amino-terminal deoxyribonucleotide primers and with primers made of unmodified RNA. Near-quantitative primer extension with half-life times on the order of hours has been demonstrated by using azaoxybenzotriazolides of nucleotides and downstream-binding oligomers. Further, small non-nucleosidic substituents placed on the terminus of the template or the downstream-binding oligomer have been shown to increase the rate and fidelity of primer-extension reactions. Since all four templating bases (A, C, G, T/U) direct sequence-selective primer-extension steps, we feel that there is renewed hope that full, nonenzymatic replication from monomers may eventually be achieved.
authors: Institute for Organic Chemistry, University of Karlsruhe TH, D-76131 Karlsruhe.
authors: Jan A Rojas
authors: JA
authors: Stütz
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Kervio
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Deck
authors: Clemens
authors: C
authors: Richert
mesh_terms: D020029:Base Pairing; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004261:DNA Replication; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D013698:Templates, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012313:RNA