Indian-Origin Scientist Finds New Clues On How Life Began On Earth, Against All Odds

A new study by an Indian-origin researcher sheds light on the origin of life on our planet. As per the discovery made in the new study, the early life forms on Earth took shape through a mix of DNA and RNA.

Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy

Led by Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy from Scripps Research in California, the study highlights that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP) caused the possible origin of the first life form on Earth. The compound was plausibly present on Earth before life arose.

The study describes a chemical reaction that could possibly have assembled DNA building blocks known as deoxynucleosides into strands of primordial DNA. The process might have taken place before any life form and the associated enzymes existed.

Now published in a chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, findings from the study reiterate the possibility that the first life forms on Earth were mixes of DNA and its close chemical cousin RNA. The two compounds are speculated to have formed together as products of similar chemical reactions.

"This finding is an important step toward the development of a detailed chemical model of how the first life forms originated on Earth," said Krishnamurthy, an associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research and a senior author of the study.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

The new study by Krishnamurthy will act as a solid foundation for more extensive studies on self-replicating DNA-RNA mixes. Further research on these can explain a lot more about how life from these mixes evolved and spread on Earth over time, giving rise to the more complex living organisms as we know now.

The new work is also touted to have several practical applications. "Now that we understand better how a primordial chemistry could have made the first RNAs and DNAs, we can start using it on mixes of ribonucleoside and deoxynucleoside building blocks to see what chimeric molecules are formed--and whether they can self-replicate and evolve," Krishnamurthy explained.

For instance, artificial synthesis of DNA and RNA as in the "PCR" technique used in COVID-19 tests is a major business around the globe. The process, however, depends on relatively fragile enzymes, thus resulting in several limitations.

Through the study, it is known that both the compounds can be formed through the same chemical methods, possibly using the organic compound DAP. Thus developing robust, enzyme-free chemical methods for making DNA and RNA strands may end up being a more attractive option for researchers across the globe, Krishnamurthy said.

(With inputs from IANS)