Mixtures of peptides and nucleic acids tend to demix and form coacervate droplets. Here, the authors show that even short peptides and oligonucleotides form droplets. DNA and RNA impart different properties to these protocells – stability, fluidity and the potential to host RNA chemistry.
How did primitive membranes form at the #OriginOfLife and how did they evolve into the cellular envelopes of modern cells?
Exciting talk by Claudia Bonfio about the non-enzymatic formation of phospholipids under conditions that are plausible for early Earth. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/sc/d4sc05362a (1/2)
#Chemistry #OriginOfLife #lipid #membrane #evolution #LipidTime #NucleicAcids