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Models of Protocellular Structure, Function and EvolutionIn the absence of any record of protocells, the most direct way to test our understanding of the origin of cellular life is to construct laboratory models that capture important features of protocellular systems. Such efforts are currently underway in a collaborative project between NASA-Ames, Harvard Medical School and University of California. They are accompanied by computational studies aimed at explaining self-organization of simple molecules into ordered structures. The centerpiece of this project is a method for the in vitro evolution of protein enzymes toward arbitrary catalytic targets. A similar approach has already been developed for nucleic acids in which a small number of functional molecules are selected from a large, random population of candidates. The selected molecules are next vastly multiplied using the polymerase chain reaction. A mutagenic approach, in which the sequences of selected molecules are randomly altered, can yield further improvements in performance or alterations of specificities. Unfortunately, the catalytic potential of nucleic acids is rather limited. Proteins are more catalytically capable but cannot be directly amplified. In the new technique, this problem is circumvented by covalently linking each protein of the initial, diverse, pool to the RNA sequence that codes for it. Then, selection is performed on the proteins, but the nucleic acids are replicated. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
Document ID
20020002045
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
New, Michael H.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Pohorille, Andrew
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Szostak, Jack W.
(Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA United States)
Keefe, Tony
(Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA United States)
Lanyi, Janos K.
(California Univ. Irvine, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: General Meeting of the NASA Astrobiology Insititute
Subject Category
Exobiology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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