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Protective effect of clay minerals on adsorbed nucleic acid against UV radiation: possible role in the origin of life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2004

F. Scappini ,
F. Casadei ,
R. Zamboni ,
M. Franchi ,
E. Gallori  and
S. Monti
F. Scappini
Affiliation:
Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati del CNR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy e-mail: F.Scappini@ism.bo.cnr.it
F. Casadei
Affiliation:
Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati del CNR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy e-mail: F.Scappini@ism.bo.cnr.it
R. Zamboni
Affiliation:
Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati del CNR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy e-mail: F.Scappini@ism.bo.cnr.it
M. Franchi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica dell'Università, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy
E. Gallori
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica dell'Università, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy
S. Monti
Affiliation:
Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività del CNR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 4019 Bologna, Italy
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Abstract

The effect of UV radiation on solutions of free and clay-adsorbed DNA has been investigated. It turns out that clay (montmorillonite/kaolinite) adsorbed nucleic acid undergoes less radiation damage than free nucleic acid. Our laboratory experiments have an astronomical counterpart in terms of solar irradiance on the Earth. An origin of life scenario is proposed where ubiquitous clay minerals lead the surface chemistry of the molecules relevant to the biological evolution and at the same time protect them from the deadly rainfall of UV photons.

Keywords

clay mineralsclay nucleic acid complexesorigin of lifesurface mediated origin of genetic materialUV irradiation of DNA
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , January 2004 , pp. 17 - 19
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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