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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
05:45
Process Development for the Spray-Drying of Probiotic Bacteria and Evaluation of the Product Quality
Published on: April 7, 2023
Layered double hydroxide minerals as possible prebiotic information storage and transfer compounds
H Chris Greenwell1, Peter V Coveney
1Centre for Computational Science, Christopher Ingold Laboratory, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK. h.greenwell@ucl.ac.uk
Summary
Layered double hydroxide (LDH) minerals offer a potential pre-RNA system for the origin of life, capable of replication and mutation. These hypothetical LDH structures could store information and form chiral surfaces, predating the RNA world.
Area of Science:
- Astrobiology
- Mineralogy
- Origin of Life studies
Background:
- The origin of life requires systems capable of replication and mutation.
- Identifying plausible prebiotic molecules and systems remains a fundamental challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose layered double hydroxide (LDH) minerals as a potential proto-RNA system.
- To explore how LDH structures could facilitate information storage, replication, and mutation.
Main Methods:
- Speculative modeling of hypothetical LDH-like systems.
- Analysis of crystal structures and surface chemistry.
- Comparison with modern genetic material (DNA/RNA).
Main Results:
- Hypothetical LDH crystals intercalated with anions can form ordered structures for information storage.
- LDH surfaces can possess complementary or mirror-image reactive sites, potentially leading to chirality.
- These LDH structures exhibit properties analogous to early genetic material.
Conclusions:
- LDH minerals represent a plausible candidate for a proto-RNA molecule.
- This LDH-based system could explain interstratification and provide a foundation for early genetic systems.
- Such proto-RNA molecules may have predated the established RNA world.
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