title: Nonenzymatic RNA ligation in water.
abstract: We describe the nonenzymatic ligation of RNA oligomers in water. Dimers and tetramers are formed in a time-, pH-, and temperature-dependent reaction. Ligation efficiency depends on oligonucleotide length and sequence and is strongly enhanced by adenine-based nucleotide cofactors. Ligation of short RNA fragments could have liberated the prebiotic polymerization systems from the thermodynamically demanding task of reaching a (pre)genetically meaningful size by stepwise addition of one precursor monomer at the time.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Genetica e Biologia Molecolare, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Samanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciciriello
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Costanzo
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Mauro
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods; D019281:Dimerization; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D010407:Penicillium / Q000201:enzymology; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009841:Oligonucleotides; D014867:Water; D012313:RNA; D012260:Ribonucleases; D000225:Adenine