Prebiotic Evolution and Self-Assembly of Nucleic Acids

Prebiotic evolution is the stage that is assumed to have taken place prior to the emergence of the first living entities, during which time the abiotic synthesis of monomers, oligomers, and supramolecular systems that led to the hypothesized RNA world occurred. In this Perspective, the success of one-pot Miller-Urey type synthesis of organic compounds is compared with the multipot syntheses developed within the framework of systems chemistry, which attempts to demonstrate that RNA could have been formed directly in the primitive environment. The prebiotic significance of liquid-crystal ordering of nucleic acid oligomers and self-organizing assemblages of RNA and DNA that are formed in the absence of membranes or mineral matrices is also addressed.