Replicating RNA with RNA
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A critical event in the origin of life is thought to have been the emergence of an RNA molecule capable of self-replication as well as mutation, and hence evolution towards ever more efficient replication. As this primordial replicase appears to be have been lost in time, we are using synthetic biology to build modern-day ‘Doppelgangers’ of the ancestral replicase to reconstruct and study life’s first genetic system. I will discuss our progress in the engineering and evolution of an RNA replicase as well as future challenges such as the integration of RNA self-replication within protocellular structures with a view to build simple quasicellular systems with life-like properties.
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