Reconstruction of co-evolutionary pathway between RNA and protein on the ancient Earth
| Project/Area Number |
18H01328
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 17050:Biogeosciences-related
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| Research Institution | Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
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Principal Investigator |
Tagami Shunsuke 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命機能科学研究センター, チームリーダー (40586939)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥17,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,960,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000)
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| Keywords | 生命の起原 / RNAポリメラーゼ / ペプチド / RNA / 生命の起源 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In this study, we investigated the effects of simple peptides on ribozyme activity in order to recapitulate the coevolutionary pathway of ancient peptides and RNA. We demonstrated that even simple peptides such as KKVVVVVV were able to achieve functions such as self-assembly, RNA concentration, and ribozyme activation. In addition, we reconstructed the ancient protein structure preserved in the active center of RNA polymerase with short peptides, resulting in the reproduction of the ancient protein fold with only seven amino acid types. These seven amino acids are coded in a corner in the genetic code and are estimated to be the ancient genetic code.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
生命誕生の謎は生物学上最大の問題の1つである．特に核酸とタンパク質がお互いに依存し合う複雑なシステムがどのように出来上がったのかは生命誕生の鍵を握る重要な問いであると言える．そこで、本研究では初期生命におけるRNAとタンパク質の共進化のプロセスを再現するため、人工的なRNA酵素の実験系を使用して、RNA単独では克服できない課題をペプチド・タンパク質の添加により解決し、「RNAワールドにおいて、なぜタンパク質が必要とされ、どのように進化したか」を解明することを目指した。この研究で，単純なペプチドがRNAを補助し，さらに立体構造をもつタンパク質に進化していった過程の一端を明らかにすることができた．
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Report
(5 results)
Research Products
(6 results)
