Verification of chemical evolution of RNA under hydrothermal environments on the primitive Earth

Abstract

The RNA World hypothesis proposes that primitive forms of life used polymers resembling RNA both as catalysts and as carriers of genetic information. It has also been suggested that the origin of life occurred in hydrothermal conditions, but this implies that the ester bonds of nucleic acids are sufficiently stable to survive in aqueous conditions at elevated temperatures. Here, we summarize the results of experimental tests of RNA in simulated hydrothermal conditions in which stability is monitored at elevated temperatures and pressures. This perspective provides insight into the evolutionary pathway from small nucleotides to functional RNA molecules and the feasibility of RNA-based life.