Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Nucleoside Triphosphates - From Synthesis to Biochemical Characterization
Published on: April 3, 2014
Prebiotic chemistry: a review of nucleoside phosphorylation and polymerization
Xiaofan Guo1, Songsen Fu1, Jianxi Ying1
1Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The phosphorylation of nucleosides and their polymerization are crucial issues concerning the origin of life. The question of how these plausible chemical processes took place in the prebiotic Earth is still perplexing, despite several studies that have attempted to explain these prebiotic processes. The purpose of this article is to review these chemical reactions with respect to chemical evolution in the primeval Earth. Meanwhile, from our perspective, the chiral properties and selection of biomolecules should be considered in the prebiotic chemical origin of life, which may contribute to further research in this field to some extent.
Related Concept Videos
Biosynthesis of Nucleic Acids
ATP and Macromolecule Synthesis
Most macromolecules are composed of single subunits, or building blocks, called monomers. The monomers combine with each other using covalent bonds to form larger molecules known as polymers.
Conversion of...
Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
Nucleic Acid Structure
DNA Structure
DNA...
Phosphodiester Linkages
Phosphodiester bond forms when a phosphoric acid molecule (H3PO4) links with two hydroxyl groups (–OH) of two other molecules, forming two ester bonds. Two water molecules are released in this process. The phosphodiester bond is commonly found in nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and plays a critical role in their structure and function.
Phosphodiester Bonds Link Nucleotides Together
DNA and RNA are polynucleotides or long chains of nucleotides that are linked together. A nucleotide is...

