Template-directed synthesis of a genetic polymer in a model protocell

Sheref S. Mansy, Jason P. Schrum, Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Sylvia Tobé, Douglas A. Treco and Jack W. Szostak ()
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Sheref S. Mansy: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
Jason P. Schrum: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
Mathangi Krishnamurthy: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
Sylvia Tobé: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
Douglas A. Treco: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
Jack W. Szostak: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7200, 122-125

Abstract: Origins of life: The first cell membranes The phospholipids that form the membranes of modern cells present a formidable barrier to polar and charged molecules, necessitating complex channels and pumps to permit the exchange of molecules with the external environment. This presents a problem when trying to imagine what a primitive cell would have looked like earlier in the evolution of life. With no transport machinery, how could simple cells take in complex nutrients? A possible answer comes in the form of a model 'protocell' produced by a team at Harvard. Fatty acids and their derivatives are attractive candidates as components of early protocell membranes as they are simple amphiphiles that form bilayer membrane vesicles. A proto-cell equipped with such a membrane is found to be able to take in charged molecules such as nucleotides, while retaining longer genetic polymers made from them inside.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07018

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