{"58047":{"#nid":"58047","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study: Adding UV light helps form \u0022Missing G\u0022 of RNA building blocks","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor scientists attempting to understand how the building blocks of RNA originated on Earth, guanine -- the G in the four-letter code of life -- has proven to be a particular challenge. While the other three bases of RNA -- adenine (A), cytosine (C) and uracil (U) -- could be created by heating a simple precursor compound in the presence of certain naturally occurring catalysts, guanine had not been observed as a product of the same reactions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy adding ultraviolet light to a model prebiotic reaction, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Roma, \u201cLa Sapienza\u201d, have discovered a route by which the missing guanine could have been formed. They also found that the RNA bases may have been easier to form than previously thought -- suggesting that starting life on Earth might not have been so difficult after all. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe findings are reported June 14, 2010 in the journal \u003Cem\u003EChemBioChem\u003C\/em\u003E. This collaborative work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the European Space Agency. The NSF funding is provided through the Center for Chemical Evolution at Georgia Tech.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding how life emerged is one of the greatest scientific challenges. There is considerable evidence that the evolution of life passed through an early stage in which RNA played a more central role, before DNA and protein enzymes appeared.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecent efforts to understand the prebiotic formation of the building blocks of RNA have focused on the chemical formamide (H2NCOH) as a potential starting material to create the RNA bases because it contains the four required elements -- carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen -- and because of its stability, reactivity and low volatility compared to water. Previous reports have shown that these nucleic acid components -- with the exception of guanine -- can be synthesized by heating formamide to 160 degrees Celsius in the presence of mineral catalysts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn their \u003Cem\u003EChemBioChem\u003C\/em\u003E paper, the researchers show for the first time that guanine can be produced by subjecting a solution of formamide to ultraviolet radiation during heating. The trace gaunine yield was greatly enhanced when minerals and photons were used together. In addition, production of adenine and a related molecule called hypoxanthine increased when ultraviolet light was added to the heating process -- a 15-fold increase was seen in adenine yield. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese results potentially relax some of the requirements and reactions necessary to get life started, because formamide molecules would not have had to be in contact with a particular type of rock when heated on the prebiotic Earth, if the formamide was exposed to direct sunlight during heating,\u201d said Nicholas Hud, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study demonstrated that guanine, adenine and hypoxanthine can be produced at lower temperatures than previously reported, even in the absence of minerals, as long as photons are added. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor these experiments we built a very simple reaction chamber with an inexpensive 254-nanometer photon source to simulate conditions that could have been present on early Earth,\u201d explained Thomas Orlando, also a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. \u201cWe didn\u2019t need extremely sophisticated experimental systems or expensive lasers; however, we did use sophisticated mass spectrometers to analyze the resulting complex chemical mixtures.\u201d\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Hud and Orlando laboratories conducted experiments by heating formamide to 130 degrees Celsius -- 30 degrees cooler than previous experiments -- and shining ultraviolet light onto it. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur work has allowed us to consider a different type of \u2018primordial soup\u2019 than what has previously been considered possible starting conditions for life,\u201d said Orlando. \u201cOur model prebiotic reaction is attractive because most aspects of the process were likely to occur on the early Earth and it reduces chemical constraints.\u201d\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe authors suggest that aqueous pools containing small amounts of formamide may have existed on the early Earth. During hot and dry periods, water evaporation could have given rise to concentrated solutions of formamide and exposed mineral surfaces coated with formamide.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy conducting additional experiments at 100 degrees Celsius with solutions of formamide and water, the researchers confirmed that this \u201cdrying pool\u201d model could give rise to solutions of formamide capable of producing the compounds found in their earlier experiments.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhile there is still a lot of chemistry required for us to better understand the formation of biological molecules needed for life, these one-pot reactions that occur due to the synergy of thermal and photochemical processes tell us that the chemical and environmental requirements to produce life are probably less restrictive than we once thought,\u201d added Hud.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESapienza University professor of molecular biology Ernesto Di Mauro, and Georgia Tech chemistry graduate students Hannah Barks and Ragan Buckley and research scientist Gregory Grieves also contributed to this work.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. CHE-0739189) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Award Nos. NNG05GP20G and NNX08AO14G). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official view of the NSF or NASA.\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson (404-385-3364; \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eabby@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986; \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor scientists attempting to understand how the building blocks of RNA originated on Earth, guanine has proven to be a particular challenge. By adding UV light to a model prebiotic reaction, researchers have discovered a way to form guanine.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Starting life on Earth might not have been as difficult as was t"}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2010-06-14 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:47","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"58048":{"id":"58048","type":"image","title":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","body":null,"created":"1449176194","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:56:34","changed":"1475894510","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:50","alt":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","file":{"fid":"190749","name":"top22505.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/top22505_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/top22505_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1301306,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/top22505_1.jpg?itok=8KC2KVzS"}},"58049":{"id":"58049","type":"image","title":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","body":null,"created":"1449176194","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:56:34","changed":"1475894510","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:50","alt":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","file":{"fid":"190750","name":"tdp22505.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tdp22505_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tdp22505_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1166511,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tdp22505_1.jpg?itok=Hi5QCiaH"}},"58050":{"id":"58050","type":"image","title":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","body":null,"created":"1449176194","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:56:34","changed":"1475894510","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:50","alt":"Nick Hud Ragan Buckley","file":{"fid":"190751","name":"tkt22505.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tkt22505_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tkt22505_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1283812,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tkt22505_1.jpg?itok=uv5fL4o_"}}},"media_ids":["58048","58049","58050"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/cbic.201000074","title":"ChemBioChem article"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Hud\/","title":"Nicholas Hud"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Orlando\/","title":"Prof. Thomas M. Orlando, Georgia Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9858","name":"adenine"},{"id":"9855","name":"formamide"},{"id":"2735","name":"guanine"},{"id":"9854","name":"Origin Of Life"},{"id":"9859","name":"Prebiotic"},{"id":"984","name":"RNA"},{"id":"9856","name":"ultraviolet light"},{"id":"9857","name":"Uv Light"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EContact Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}