2011/05/18 by Benedikt Obermayer, B. Obermayer, Hubert Krammer +5 · 47 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Abiogenesis #Base pair #Biological system #Biology #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Computational biology #Computer science #DNA #Gene #Genetics #Intermolecular force #Molecule #Origins and Evolution of Life #Pairing #Physics #Protein Structure and Dynamics #Quantum mechanics #RNA #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms #Sequence (biology) #Statistical physics #Transmission (telecommunications) #physics.bio-ph #q-bio.BM #q-bio.PE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.107.018101
published in Physical Review Letters 107(1), 018101 (American Physical Society) · accepted at Phys. Rev. Lett
arxiv created 2011/05/18 · openalex publication_date 2011/06/27 · arxiv updated 2011/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A poorly understood step in the transition from a chemical to a biological world is the emergence of self-replicating molecular systems. We study how a precursor for such a replicator might arise in a hydrothermal RNA reactor, which accumulates longer sequences from unbiased monomer influx and random ligation. In the reactor, intra- and intermolecular base pairing locally protects from random cleavage. By analyzing stochastic simulations, we find temporal sequence correlations that constitute a signature of information transmission, weaker but of the same form as in a true replicator.