Comparison of the rates of prebiotic formation and hydrolysis of RNA under hydrothermal environments and its implications on the chemical evolution of RNA.

In order to evaluate the possibility of the RNA world hypothesis from the viewpoint of hydrothermal origin of life, parallel investigations on the formation and decomposition of RNA are indispensable under hydrothermal conditions. In this report, comparison of the rates of the template-directed formation and hydrolytic decomposition of RNA in aqueous solution at elevated to high temperatures was carried out. Furthermore, it was elucidated that these prebiotic reactions are relatively so slow compared with modern enzymatic reactions. Based on the considerations, it is predicted that RNA world would be possible at high temperatures.