Astrobiologists supported in part by the NAI have made an important discovery about the activity of Ribonucleic acid (RNA) on the early Earth. RNA acts as a catalyst for many cellular reactions, and is essential for life as we know it. The functionality of RNA, which played a central role in ancient biology, depends on how it bends, folds and assembles with cations like magnesium (Mg2+).

On the early Earth, cations of iron (Fe2+) were more freely available than today due to the lack of free oxygen in the atmosphere at that time. The scientists examined what happened to RNA when Mg2+ was replaced with Fe2+. They found that certain types of RNA actually took on new roles when Fe2+ was present. This means that RNAs may have played different and more varied roles for life on the early Earth, and that the experiments might be reviving some of the RNAs’ ancient abilities.

The paper “RNA with iron(II) as a cofactor catalyses electron transfer” was published in Nature Chemistry under lead author Chiaolong Hsiao.

Click here to read the press release from Georgia Tech.