Construction of RNA based life-like chemical system for Darwinian evolution on the basis of the replication reaction consisting of three base units

• Project/Area Number: 15K12144
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Life / Health / Medical informatics
• Research Institution: Hiroshima Shudo University
• Principal Investigator: Kawamura Kunio 広島修道大学, 人間環境学部, 教授 (50204772)
• Research Collaborator: Maurel Marie-Christine University Pierre and Marie CURIE, Institutde Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, 教授 ; KONAGAYA NORIKO 安田女子大学, 家政学部, 准教授 ; MARUOKA YOSHIMI
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: RNAワールド / 鋳型指示反応 / オリゴヌクレオチド / 化学反応速度論 / 生命の起源 / 化学進化 / アストロバイオロジー / 原始地球 / 複製反応 / トリプレットコドン / RNA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We attempted to make an RNA replication model on the basis of three base unit template-directed reactions, which would lead a new experimental approach for spontaneous chemical reaction system in vitro. Using two types of template-directed reactions, which are the regular template-directed reaction (TD reaction) and a template-direcetd reaction including 2 - 6 members of nucleoside bases (S-TD reaction). The influence for these TD reactions, (1) influence of protein-like molecules, (2) the influence of sequences of S-TD reaction, (3) the influence of zinc ions, (4) HPLC analytical method for the evaluation of these models have been investigated. According to these analyses, we emphasize that we need to make a conclusion which would be conflict to the RNA world hypothesis since the replication of RNA could hardly started under the primitive Earth conditions.

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] パリ第6大学(フランス)
• [Journal Article] Walking over 4 Gya: Chemical evolution from photochemistry to mineral and organic chemistries leading to an RNA world (2017)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kwamura, Marie-Christine Maurel
  • Journal Title: Origins Life Evol. Biopsheres Volume: 印刷中
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] A hypothesis: life initiated from two genes, as deduced from the RNA world hypothesis and the characteristics of life-like systems (2016)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kwamura
  • Journal Title: Life Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Pages: 29-29
  • DOI: 10.3390/life6030029
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Verification of chemical evolution of RNA under hydrothermal environments on the primitive Earth (2015)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura, Laura Da Silva, Mari Ogawa, Noriko Konagaya, and Marie-Christine Maurel
  • Journal Title: BIO Web of Conferences Volume: 4 Pages: 1-5
  • DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20150400011
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 仮説：生命は２つの遺伝子から始まった (2017)
  • Author(s): 川村邦男
  • Organizer: 生命の起原および進化学会 第42回学術講演会
  • Place of Presentation: 飯塚
  • Year and Date: 2017-03-28
• [Presentation] Chemical Evolution of RNA and peptides under the extreme ancient Earth environments (2017)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Organizer: Seminar at Sandrine Sagan Laboratoire des BioMolecules-LBM
  • Place of Presentation: パリ
  • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
• [Presentation] Origins of life on the Earth in 4.6 billion years towards modern civilizations (2017)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Organizer: Conference, Maison Universitaire France-Japon
  • Place of Presentation: ストラスブルグ
  • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
• [Presentation] Roles of minerals for the chemical evolution of RNA and peptides under the primitive hydrothermal earth environments (2016)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Organizer: CECAM Atomistic simulations in prebiotic chemistry - a dialog between experiment and theory at University Pierre and Marie Curie
  • Place of Presentation: パリ
  • Year and Date: 2016-06-20
  • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
• [Presentation] 熱水環境下におけるペプチド伸長反応に対する鉱物の効果およびより低温下でのペプチド伸長反応 (2016)
  • Author(s): 川村邦男・丸岡佳美・小長谷紀子
  • Organizer: 生命の起原および進化学会 第41回学術講演会
  • Place of Presentation: 鳴門
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-14
• [Presentation] Difficulty of spontaneous formation and replication of oligonucleotides containing 4 kinds of nucleotide residues using the monomeric activated nucleotides (2015)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Organizer: Pacifichem 2015
  • Place of Presentation: Honolulu
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-15
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Drawbacks regarding the chemical evolution of biopolymers under the primitive hydrothermal earth environments (2015)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Organizer: Pacifichem 2015
  • Place of Presentation: Honolulu
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-15
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Role of minerals for the oligomerization of amino acids under the primitive hydrothermal earth environments (2015)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura, Yoshimi, Maruoka, Noriko Konagaya
  • Organizer: Goldschmidt 2015
  • Place of Presentation: Prague
  • Year and Date: 2015-08-16
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Book] Chapters “Activated Nucleotide”, “Nucleotide Phosphirimidazolide”, and “Oligonuleotide”, in “Encyclopedia of Astrobiology”, Eds. by M. Gargaud, W. M. Irvine, R. Amils, J. Cernicharo Quintanilla, H. J. Cleaves, D. Pinti, D. Rouan, T. Spohn, S. Tirard, M. Viso (2015)
  • Author(s): Kunio Kawamura
  • Total Pages: 2763
  • Publisher: Springer