CBM Severo Ochoa y Centro de Astrobiología, Madrid.
Madrid, 20 de octubre de 2009
The search for life in our Universe remains one of the greatest and motivating challenges of modern science. One of the models of the origin of life proposes as one of its critical events the chemical synthesis of RNA or RNA-like molecules, endowed with the capacity to undergo a critical transition towards selforganization. This model is based on a theory of molecular evolution, termed quasispecies theory, developed by M. Eigen and P. Schuster. Interestingly, according to this theory, the behavior of simple RNA replicons that might have populated an ancient RNA (or RNA-like) world on Earth has striking similarities with the behavior of some present day viruses. The viruses that have RNA as genetic material display error-prone replication as a source of adaptability, as predicted by quasispecies theory. Adaptive features of RNA viruses might play also a role in primitive RNA worlds, as a support to evolve towards more complex life forms."La Fundación Ramón Areces no se hace responsable de las opiniones, comentarios o manifestaciones realizados por las personas que participan en sus actividades."
