Abstract
AbstractA structural element that could have existed independently in the prebiotic era was identified at the active site of the contemporary ribosome. It is suggested to have functioned as a proto-ribosome catalyzing peptide bond formation and non-coded elongation in the same manner that contemporary ribosomes exert positional catalysis, namely by accommodating the reactants in stereochemistry favourable for inline nucleophilic attack. This simple apparatus is a dimer of self-folding RNA units that could have assembled spontaneously into a symmetrical pocket-like structure, sufficiently efficient to be preserved throughout evolution as the active site of modern ribosomes, thus presenting a conceivable starting point for translation.Here we discuss the proto-ribosome emergence hypothesis and show that the tendency for dimerization, a prerequisite for obtaining the catalytic centre, is linked to the fold of its two components, indicating functional selection at the molecular level in the prebiotic era and supporting the existence of dimeric proto-ribosome.
Highlights
Two components, indicating functional selection at the molecular level in the prebiotic era and supporting the existence of dimeric proto-ribosome
Careful investigations of the basic assumption of the proto-ribosome hypothesis presented here confirmed the possible existence of an ancient dimer of a ‘pocket-like’ structure, similar to the modern ribosomal active site. We suggest that such ‘pocket-like’ templates were involved in providing positional catalysis for peptide bond formation and for non-coded elongation
This study is based on our assumption that the proto-ribosome was a simple apparatus with the ability to catalyze peptide bond formation and to allow simple elongation, and that this apparatus could have materialized spontaneously under prebiotic conditions
Summary
A structural element that could have existed independently in the prebiotic era was identified at the active site of the contemporary ribosome. It is suggested to have functioned as a proto-ribosome catalyzing peptide bond formation and non-coded elongation in the same manner that contemporary ribosomes exert positional catalysis, namely by accommodating the reactants in stereochemistry favourable for inline nucleophilic attack This simple apparatus is a dimer of self-folding RNA units that could have assembled spontaneously into a symmetrical pocket-like structure, sufficiently efficient to be preserved throughout evolution as the active site of modern ribosomes, presenting a conceivable starting point for translation. Careful investigations of the basic assumption of the proto-ribosome hypothesis presented here confirmed the possible existence of an ancient dimer of a ‘pocket-like’ structure, similar to the modern ribosomal active site We suggest that such ‘pocket-like’ templates were involved in providing positional catalysis for peptide bond formation and for non-coded elongation. Programmed translation evolved later, in correlation with larger ribosomes, more complex substrates and the involvement of non-ribosomal factors
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