Nucleic acids (NAs) in modern biology accomplish a variety of tasks, and the emergence of primitive nucleic acids is broadly recognized as a crucial step for the emergence of life. While modern NAs have been optimized by evolution to accomplish various biological functions, such as catalysis or transmission of genetic information, primitive NAs could have emerged and been selected based on more rudimental chemical–physical properties, such as their propensity to self-assemble into supramolecular structures. One such supramolecular structure available to primitive NAs are liquid crystal (LC) phases, which are the outcome of the collective behavior of short DNA or RNA oligomers or monomers that self-assemble into linear aggregates by combinations of pairing and stacking. Formation of NA LCs could have provided many essential advantages for a primitive evolving system, including the selection of potential genetic polymers based on structure, protection by compartmentalization, elongation, and recombination by enhanced abiotic ligation. Here, we review recent studies on NA LC assembly, structure, and functions with potential prebiotic relevance. Finally, we discuss environmental or geological conditions on early Earth that could have promoted (or inhibited) primitive NA LC formation and highlight future investigation axes essential to further understanding of how LCs could have contributed to the emergence of life.
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December 2022
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Cover Image
This issue of
Emerging Topics in Life Sciences celebrates and focuses on the contributions of Early Career Researchers in the field of Soft Matter Biophysics. The cover features polarized optical microscopy images of columnar liquid crystal phase separated domains in mixtures of DNA oligomers and polyethylene glycol from the authors of the review by Jia et al. of this issue (Image dimension 300 microns).
Review Article|
November 14 2022
A liquid crystal world for the origins of life
Tony Z. Jia
;
1Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
2Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA 98104, U.S.A.
Correspondence: Tony Z. Jia (tzjia@elsi.jp) or Tommaso P. Fraccia (tommaso.fraccia@espci.fr)
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Tommaso Bellini;
Tommaso Bellini
3Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano 20122, Italy
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Noel Clark;
Noel Clark
4Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, U.S.A.
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Tommaso P. Fraccia
5Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, CBI, ESPCI Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
Correspondence: Tony Z. Jia (tzjia@elsi.jp) or Tommaso P. Fraccia (tommaso.fraccia@espci.fr)
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Emerg Top Life Sci (2022) 6 (6): 557–569.
Article history
Received:
September 14 2022
Revision Received:
October 23 2022
Accepted:
October 27 2022
Citation
Tony Z. Jia, Tommaso Bellini, Noel Clark, Tommaso P. Fraccia; A liquid crystal world for the origins of life. Emerg Top Life Sci 22 December 2022; 6 (6): 557–569. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20220081
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