Short Sharp Science: Biologists create self-replicating RNA ...
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Biologists create self-replicating RNA
molecule
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Short Sharp Science
19:00 7 April 2011
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Michael Marshall, environment reporter
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It doesn't have a very sexy name, but tC19Z, synthesised in a lab in Cambridge, UK, could be a
version of one of the first enzymes that ever existed on our planet - and a clue to how life itself
got started.
A prominent theory of how life started involves the appearance of a self-replicator - some kind of
simple molecule that was capable of making copies of itself without relying on other molecules.
The trouble is, if this self-replicating molecule ever did exist, it doesn't any more. The vast
majority of organisms around today use DNA to store their genetic information, and DNA does
not copy itself - other enzymes do that bit for it.
Big Wide World
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Enter tC19Z. Built by Philipp Holliger and colleagues, it is an RNA enzyme that functions like a
self-replicator.
RNA is structurally similar to DNA and can also be used to store genetic information. Some RNA
molecules can act as enzymes, driving important chemical reactions in cells, but an RNA
enzyme that can reliably copy other RNA segments, let alone self-replicate, has proved elusive.
Until now, the only known RNA-copying RNA was a molecule called R18, which can only copy
RNA segments up to 14 "letters" long, and only works on certain sequences. It's like a word
processor that can copy-and-paste "turnip" but not "swede".
Holliger, who is based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, has now
set out to improve R18. He made a vast library of thousands of different versions of the
molecule and screened them to see which ones made more copies. After several rounds of
copying variants and looking for new improvements, he found several useful tweaks, which he
incorporated into his final patchwork enzyme, tC19Z.
tC19Z can reliably copy RNA sequences up to 95 letters long, a near-sevenfold increase on
R18. Its performance varies depending on the sequence it's copying, but it is much less picky
than R18. Holliger compares R18 to a sports car that works only on a smooth, flat road. "We
have fitted a four-wheel drive, so it can go off-road a bit," he says.
Crucially, tC19Z can copy pieces of RNA that are almost half as long (48 per cent) as itself. If an
RNA enzyme is to copy itself, it has to be able to copy sequences as long as itself, and tC19Z is
closing in on that goal.
In a neat twist, Holliger's team also showed that tC19Z can make copies of another RNA
enzyme, which then worked correctly. That suggests that, once the first self-replicating RNA had
appeared, it would have been able to surround itself with additional molecular equipment,
kick-starting the evolution of more complex life.
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13/12/2012 13:04
Short Sharp Science: Biologists create self-replicating RNA ...
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/04...
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By Tom
Biologists create self-replicating RNA molecule:
Using evolutionary algorithms, to artificially 'evolve' RNA
molecules, to discover the beginnin...
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By Anonymous
Biologists create self-replicating RNA molecule:
How many scientific minds did it take to create this? It's
pretty funny to think that many scie...
By ceenvee703
Biologists create self-replicating RNA molecule:
Headline is wrong: if biologists had created a
self-replicating RNA, it could replicate 100% of...
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JadedIdealist on April 8, 2011 1:39 PM
Yes, much more like it.
Does the enzyme have to be a single strand to function - or might it still work cut into two or
more parts? - if so - job done.
Recent entries
Vin on April 8, 2011 2:00 PM
Is this article accurately titled 'Biologists create self-replicating RNA molecule' when in the
penultimate paragraph I'm told it can only replicate half its length. Isn't that a bit like saying
'Mechanic builds self assembling car in Austraila' and then finding only half of is being built
when I get there? I could have saved my ticket money for when it could fully build? I was really
annoyed, why did i have to almost finish the article before I knew the title was wrong? How can I
trust your titles ever again New Scientist?
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ceenvee703 on April 8, 2011 2:24 PM
Headline is wrong: if biologists had created a self-replicating RNA, it could replicate 100% of
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13/12/2012 13:04
Short Sharp Science: Biologists create self-replicating RNA ...
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/04...
Anonymous on April 9, 2011 12:28 AM
How many scientific minds did it take to create this? It's pretty funny to think that many scientists
don't believe that it took a mind to create the true first enzymes!
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Tom on April 12, 2011 1:16 PM
Using evolutionary algorithms, to artificially 'evolve' RNA molecules, to discover the beginnings
of evolution... cool!!
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