A proposed complementary pairing mode between single-stranded nucleic acids and \(\beta\)-stranded peptides: A possible pathway for generating complex biological molecules (Q1361187)

Summary: A structure for a heterologous double-stranded molecule consisting of an oligoribonucleotide and a \(\beta\)-stranded oligopeptide, paired through complementary Watson-Crick-type hydrogen bonding, is proposed. The basis for such complementary pairings between oligoribonucleotides and oligopeptides is the close correspondence of the distances between the side-chains attached to the backbones of the two molecules. Both inter-nucleotide spacing and inter-amino acid side-chain spacing are approximately 3.4 Å. These kinds of interactions may have implications in protein-mediated-RNA splicing. Formation of a heterologous duplex through such a pairing mode could provide a simple coding mechanism for a reciprocal information transfer between oligonucleotides and oligopeptides. Because of its simplicity and versatility, allowing both specific and nonspecific coding, interactions via these kinds of pairing may have been relevant for prebiotic molecular evolution and for generating complex biological molecules.