Difference between revisions of "Ribozyme vesicles"
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A unique and beneficial aspect of fatty acid vesicles is that they have autocatalytic growth and can repeatedly divide on their own. The first issue addressed is to create membranes that are stable but can allow passive diffusion of ions and substrates in and out of the vesicle. The reason that this aspect of the protocell is so essential is because the formation of RNA catalysts requires the addition of magnesium ions to create the tertiary structure of the ribozyme. To accomplish this goal, researchers observed the effects of magnesium on the stability and permeability of vesicles consisting of fatty acids known as myristoleic acid (MA and glycerol monomyristoleate (GMM). Thus, they experimented with different ratios of MA to GMM to increase tolerance of Mg2+ in vesicles and allow for passive diffusion. | A unique and beneficial aspect of fatty acid vesicles is that they have autocatalytic growth and can repeatedly divide on their own. The first issue addressed is to create membranes that are stable but can allow passive diffusion of ions and substrates in and out of the vesicle. The reason that this aspect of the protocell is so essential is because the formation of RNA catalysts requires the addition of magnesium ions to create the tertiary structure of the ribozyme. To accomplish this goal, researchers observed the effects of magnesium on the stability and permeability of vesicles consisting of fatty acids known as myristoleic acid (MA and glycerol monomyristoleate (GMM). Thus, they experimented with different ratios of MA to GMM to increase tolerance of Mg2+ in vesicles and allow for passive diffusion. | ||
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|+ Table 1. MgCl2 Tolerance of Simple Vesicles | |+ Table 1. MgCl2 Tolerance of Simple Vesicles | ||
! MA:GMM ratio !! [MgCl2] tolerated, assayed by dye leakage (mM) !! [MgCl2] at turbidity change (mM) | ! MA:GMM ratio !! [MgCl2] tolerated, assayed by dye leakage (mM) !! [MgCl2] at turbidity change (mM) | ||
Revision as of 15:00, 6 December 2007
Goals
- Create the "simplest possible protocell" capable of having a self-replicating informational molecule and a mechanism for spatial localization such as compartmentalization
- Use membrane boundary that can grow and divide with being too complex and that can allow passive diffusion of ion and substrates
- Encapsulation of catalytic (self-replicating) RNA molecules within self-replicating membrane vesicles.
Experimental Design
A unique and beneficial aspect of fatty acid vesicles is that they have autocatalytic growth and can repeatedly divide on their own. The first issue addressed is to create membranes that are stable but can allow passive diffusion of ions and substrates in and out of the vesicle. The reason that this aspect of the protocell is so essential is because the formation of RNA catalysts requires the addition of magnesium ions to create the tertiary structure of the ribozyme. To accomplish this goal, researchers observed the effects of magnesium on the stability and permeability of vesicles consisting of fatty acids known as myristoleic acid (MA and glycerol monomyristoleate (GMM). Thus, they experimented with different ratios of MA to GMM to increase tolerance of Mg2+ in vesicles and allow for passive diffusion.
| MA:GMM ratio | [MgCl2] tolerated, assayed by dye leakage (mM) | [MgCl2] at turbidity change (mM) |
|---|---|---|
| 1:0 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 4:1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2:1 | 4 | 6 |
http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/jacsat/127/i38/figures/ja051784pf00001.gif
