title: Enhanced nonenzymatic ligation of homopurine miniduplexes: support for greater base stacking in a pre-RNA world.
abstract: The ancestors of RNA? There is a long-standing proposal that contemporary nucleic acids might have evolved from RNA-like polymers that utilized only purine-purine base pairs. Here we demonstrate the great advantage that increased nucleobase stacking area provides for nonenzymatic ligation.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuruvilla
authors.forename: Gary B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Nicholas V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Hud
mesh_terms: D020029:Base Pairing; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D011685:Purine Nucleotides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D011685:Purine Nucleotides; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA