The Possible Roles of Water in the Prebiotic Chemical Evolution of DNA: An Approach by Single Molecule Studies

Abstract

There is no doubt that water is pivotal to life. Yet, as the emergence of life is still a big challenge in science, the detailed involvement of water in that process is not well recognized. Following the clues provided by recent single-molecule studies on DNA, we attempt to elucidate the possible roles of water in the prebiotic chemical evolution. Water has been long recognized as an important reactant in the Miller–Urey experiment and then as the only solvent of the primitive soup. Besides these, water also played a vital role in the prebiotic chemical evolution: water is the important criterion in the combinatorial library screening for self-assembling macromolecules. With this notion, the uniformity of biochemistry for all terrestrial life may be explained. A possible roadmap from inorganic world to the origin of life is also discussed.