ArticleNature chemistry2021
Heat flows in rock cracks naturally optimize salt compositions for ribozymes.
Article in Nature chemistry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- DNA twist at high alkali ion concentrations: evidence against C-form DNA in solution.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Magmatic immiscibility provides phosphate for prebiotic chemistry.Science advances · 2025Article
- Heat flows solubilize apatite to boost phosphate availability for prebiotic chemistry.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Membraneless protocell confined by a heat flow.Nature physics · 2025Article
- How Droplets Can Accelerate Reactions─Coacervate Protocells as Catalytic Microcompartments.Accounts of chemical research · 2024Article
- Article
- Nonequilibrium Wet-Dry Cycling Acts as a Catalyst for Chemical Reactions.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2024Article
- Competitive Influence of Alkali Metals in the Ion Atmosphere on Nucleic Acid Duplex Stability.ACS omega · 2024Article
- RNA folding studies inside peptide-rich droplets reveal roles of modified nucleosides at the origin of life.Science advances · 2023Article
- Article
- Ribozyme-mediated RNA synthesis and replication in a model Hadean microenvironment.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Prebiotic Foam Environments to Oligomerize and Accumulate RNA.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2022Article
- Hydrophobic-cationic peptides modulate RNA polymerase ribozyme activity by accretion.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Label-free focusing of viral particles under a temperature gradient coupled with continuous swirling flow.RSC advances · 2022Article
- From amino acid mixtures to peptides in liquid sulphur dioxide on early Earth.Nature communications · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Catalytic nucleic acids, such as ribozymes, are central to a variety of origin-of-life scenarios. Typically, they require elevated magnesium concentrations for folding and activity, but their function can be inhibited by high concentrations of monovalent salts. Here we show that geologically plausible high-sodium, low-magnesium solutions derived from leaching basalt (rock and remelted glass) inhibit ribozyme catalysis, but that this activity can be rescued by selective magnesium up-concentration by heat flow across rock fissures. In contrast to up-concentration by dehydration or freezing, this system is so far from equilibrium that it can actively alter the Mg:Na salt ratio to an extent that enables key ribozyme activities, such as self-replication and RNA extension, in otherwise challenging solution conditions. The principle demonstrated here is applicable to a broad range of salt concentrations and compositions, and, as such, highly relevant to various origin-of-life scenarios.
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