School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Nat Chem. 2014 Jul;6(7):569-74. doi: 10.1038/nchem.1981.
The route by which the complex and specific molecules of life arose from the 'prebiotic soup' remains an unsolved problem. Evolution provides a large part of the answer, but this requires molecules that can carry information (that is, exist in many variants) and can replicate themselves. The process is commonplace in living organisms, but not so easy to achieve with simple chemical systems. It is especially difficult to contemplate in the chemical chaos of the prebiotic world. Although popular in many quarters, the notion that RNA was the first self-replicator carries many difficulties. Here, we present an alternative view, suggesting that there may be undiscovered self-replication mechanisms possible in much simpler systems. In particular, we highlight the possibility of information coding through stereochemical configurations of substituents in organic polymers. We also show that this coding system leads naturally to enantiopurity, solving the apparent problem of biological homochirality.
生命的复杂而特异的分子是如何从“原始汤”中产生的，这仍然是一个未解决的问题。进化提供了部分答案，但这需要能够携带信息（即存在多种变体）并能自我复制的分子。这个过程在生物体中很常见，但在简单的化学系统中却不容易实现。在原始生命世界的化学混沌中，更是难以想象。尽管在许多方面都很流行，但 RNA 是第一种自我复制者的观点存在许多困难。在这里，我们提出了一种替代观点，认为在更简单的系统中可能存在尚未发现的自我复制机制。特别是，我们强调了通过有机聚合物取代基的立体化学构型进行信息编码的可能性。我们还表明，这种编码系统自然会导致对映体纯度，从而解决了生物手性的明显问题。
