Recreating the emergence of Life in early rock environments
We will only fully understand the origin of life when we can recreate it in the laboratory. I report on our latest progress in building an autonomous evolution machine in rock-inspired compartments, addressing the age-old question of the origin of life.
A first step towards molecular evolution is the assembly of RNA from single nucleotides. Moderate temperature difference at an air-water interface is an ideal micro-reactor for this process, starting from 2',3'-cyclic nucleotides [1] and using the length selective accumulation [2] at moderate alkaline pH. In preliminary experiments, we found that left- and right-handed 2',3'-cyclic G formed predominantly homochiral oligomers. We will also discuss ideas to recycle hydrolyzed RNA.
Next, the generation and propagation of information is critical. We found templated ligation of RNA strands with 2',3'-cyclic ends under the same pH. When boosted with a protein, the ligation replicates the template and creates self-selected sequence networks [3]. Ribozymes also thrive at air-water interfaces [2], allowing RNA to separate from its template after replication [4], setting the stage for exponential replication. We explored the resulting evolutionary dynamics by protein-driven DNA replication at an interface, resulting in complex sequence evolution in only 6 hours [5]. Surprisingly, the interfacial rock setting also shows signatures of modern cell biology: RNA is encapsulated into vesicles when lipids are added [2] and the components of modern cells express proteins.
[1] ChemSystemsChem doi.org/10.1002/syst.202200026 (2022). [2] Nature Chemistry, doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0299-5 (2019). [3] PNAS doi:10.1073/pnas.2018830118 (2021). [4] Nature Communications doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37206-4 (2023). [5] Nature Physics doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01516-z (2022)
Biography
| Stages | Periods and Details |
| Doctorate | 2000: Physics (summa cum laude), Technische Universität München, Germany (Prof. Dr. Peter Fromherz), ‘Imaging the capacitive stimulation of neurons’ |
| Stages of academic/professional career |
since 2007: Professor (independent W2, tenured), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
|
Engagement in the Research System and Awards
- Spokesperson of the Center for NanoScience LMU 2018-2022
- Technology Transfer Price of the German Physical Society (2019)
- Organizer Molecular Origins Munich (MOM) conference 2016, ‘18, ‘20, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23
- ERC Advanced Grant (2018)
- Initiator of Munich Origins of Life Initiative in 2016
- Deutscher Gründerpreis for NanoTemper (2015)
- Klung-Wilhelmy Weberbank Price (2011)
- ERC Starting Grant (2010)