Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
36
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-9-10
pubmed:abstractText
The earliest cells may have consisted of a self-replicating genetic polymer encapsulated within a self-replicating membrane vesicle. Here, we show that vesicles composed of simple single-chain amphiphiles such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and fatty-acid glycerol esters are extremely thermostable and retain internal RNA and DNA oligonucleotides at temperatures ranging from 0 degrees C to 100 degrees C. The strands of encapsulated double-stranded DNA can be separated by denaturation at high temperature while being retained within vesicles, implying that strand separation in primitive protocells could have been mediated by thermal fluctuations without the loss of genetic material from the protocell. At elevated temperatures, complex charged molecules such as nucleotides cross fatty-acid-based membranes very rapidly, suggesting that high temperature excursions may have facilitated nutrient uptake before the evolution of advanced membrane transporters. The thermostability of these membranes is consistent with the spontaneous replication of encapsulated nucleic acids by the alternation of template-copying chemistry at low temperature with strand-separation and nutrient uptake at high temperature.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:commentsCorrections
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-10227201, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-11201752, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-11296515, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-11825583, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-12399582, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-12469365, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-14576428, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-14611502, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-15298905, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-16173749, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-16228646, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-18528332, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-2223070, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-2440020, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-6296863, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-698196, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-7528810, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/18768808-9383474
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
1091-6490
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
9
pubmed:volume
105
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
13351-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Thermostability of model protocell membranes.
pubmed:affiliation
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural