Non-enzymatic Polymerization of Nucleic Acids from Monomers: Monomer Self- Condensation and Template-Directed Reactions

Abstract

This review deals with the state-of-the-art techniques in non-enzymatic nucleic acid condensation from monomers. In particular, the procedures called monomer self-condensation and template-directed monomer condensation are described, which have been developed to achieve efficient synthesis of long nucleic acid polymers or to sequence-specifically amplify nucleic acid polymers, respectively. Starting from molecular requirements, details of the polymerization mechanisms and strategies are first presented and then compared. Finally, we discuss the relevance of these strategies to the investigation of possible early molecular information systems on the prebiotic earth and the development of novel synthetic methodologies for nucleic acids. Keywords: Activated nucleotides, micro-environments, monomer self-condensation, non-enzymatic, nucleic acids, synthetic biology, template- directed polymerization, template-directed replication.