Experimental Test of L- and D-Amino Acid Binding to L- and D-Codons Suggests that Homochirality and Codon Directionality Emerged with the Genetic Code.docVIP

Symmetry 2010, 2, 1180-1200 doi:10.3390/sym2021180 OPEN ACCESS symmetry ISSN 2073-8994 /journal/symmetry Article Experimental Test of L- and D-Amino Acid Binding to L- and D-Codons Suggests that Homochirality and Codon Directionality Emerged with the Genetic Code Robert Root-Bernstein Department of Physiology, 2174 BPS, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA; E-Mail: rootbern@ Received: 9 June 2010; in revised form: 18 June 2010 / Accepted: 22 June 2010 / Published: 23 June 2010 Abstract: L-amino acids bind preferentially to their D-codons, but almost nothing is known about whether D-amino acids correspondingly prefer L-codons, or how codon directionality affects amino acid binding. To investigate these issues, two D-RNA-oligonucleotides having inverse base sequences (D-CGUA and D-AUGC) and their corresponding L-RNA-oligonucleotides (L-CGUA and L-AUGC) were synthesized and their affinity determined for Gly and eleven pairs of L- and D-amino acids. The data support the hypothesis (Root-Bernstein, Bioessays 2007; 29: 689–698) that homochirality and codon directionality emerged as a function of the origin of the genetic code itself. Further tests involving amplification methods are proposed. Keywords: homochirality; origin of genetic code; codon, amino acid; chiral binding; molecular complementarity; origin of life; selectivity 1. Introduction The origin of homochirality remains one of the profound mysteries of life’s evolution. Why do all living things on Earth utilize L-amino acids and D-sugars? Hypotheses on this subject date back to the discovery of homochirality by Pasteur and can be divided into those that propound the existence of an asymmetric force which selects for preferred chirality [1–3] and those who propose it arose through a “frozen accident”. The difficulty with “frozen accident” theories is that they can