RNA-Peptide Based Coacervates as a Prebiotically Plausible Pathway towards a Proto-Ribosome
type: CreativeWork
description: Origin of life chemistry is a multidisciplinary field focusing on the goal of understanding how Earth went from a hostile rock, inhospitable to life, to a biodiverse planet. A key goal in this is understanding how protocells formed in an abiotic environment as a pathway to the first biotic cells. A challenge presented in the emergence of cells is the existence of the ribosome, the cellular machine which translates RNA into peptides and proteins. While found in the earliest genomic history on Earth, its existence should not be compatible with an abiotic environment as enzymes are necessary to produce full-sized proteins. However, when viewed as a system and supramolecular chemistry environment, a new pathway emerges. Coacervation, a liquid-liquid phase separation event where two or more molecules undergo non-covalent interactions to form a secondary liquid phase, has been studied as a method of prebiotic compartmentalization. This thesis uses coacervates to mimic the peptide forming reaction that occurs within the peptidyl transferase centre of the ribosome. To begin with an appropriate coacervate environment was found through the study of prebiotically a plausible peptide FRGRGRGA against the microRNA’s, A-10 and U-10 as well as their polymeric analogues, poly-A and poly-U. These biomacromolecules were in a variety of chemical environments, including against acidic, neutral and basic conditions to test their ability to undergo coacervation and maintain their assemblies. Coacervate formation was tested in the presence of excess RNA and excess peptide and in general, systems showed greater supramolecular assembly when excess peptide was available. Coacervate systems containing microRNAs were studied via HPLC to test their competitive preference to enter the condensed phase when both RNAs were available. This showed quantitatively that uptake of A-10 into the condensed phase was preferred to U-10, providing information on the base discrimination in liquid-liquid phase …
abstract: Origin of life chemistry is a multidisciplinary field focusing on the goal of understanding how Earth went from a hostile rock, inhospitable to life, to a biodiverse planet. A key goal in this is understanding how protocells formed in an abiotic environment as a pathway to the first biotic cells. A challenge presented in the emergence of cells is the existence of the ribosome, the cellular machine which translates RNA into peptides and proteins. While found in the earliest genomic history on Earth, its existence should not be compatible with an abiotic environment as enzymes are necessary to produce full-sized proteins. However, when viewed as a system and supramolecular chemistry environment, a new pathway emerges. Coacervation, a liquid-liquid phase separation event where two or more molecules undergo non-covalent interactions to form a secondary liquid phase, has been studied as a method of prebiotic compartmentalization. This thesis uses coacervates to mimic the peptide forming reaction that occurs within the peptidyl transferase centre of the ribosome. To begin with an appropriate coacervate environment was found through the study of prebiotically a plausible peptide FRGRGRGA against the microRNA’s, A-10 and U-10 as well as their polymeric analogues, poly-A and poly-U. These biomacromolecules were in a variety of chemical environments, including against acidic, neutral and basic conditions to test their ability to undergo coacervation and maintain their assemblies. Coacervate formation was tested in the presence of excess RNA and excess peptide and in general, systems showed greater supramolecular assembly when excess peptide was available. Coacervate systems containing microRNAs were studied via HPLC to test their competitive preference to enter the condensed phase when both RNAs were available. This showed quantitatively that uptake of A-10 into the condensed phase was preferred to U-10, providing information on the base discrimination in liquid-liquid phase …
author: Maynard, Grace
keywords: anzsrc-for: 34 CHEMICAL SCIENCES
license: http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_f1cf
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:32:53Z
provider: University of New South Wales
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: UNSW, Sydney

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/106233

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.26190/unsworks/31726