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Updated: Jul 30, 2025

Synthesis of 1,2-Azaborines and the Preparation of Their Protein Complexes with T4 Lysozyme Mutants
Published on: March 25, 2017
Boron-assisted abiotic polypeptide synthesis
Yuki Sumie1, Keiichiro Sato1, Takeshi Kakegawa1
1Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
Abstract:
The emergence of proteins and their interactions with RNAs were a key step in the origin and early evolution of life. The abiotic synthesis of peptides has been limited in short amino acid length and is favored in highly alkaline evaporitic conditions in which RNAs are unstable. This environment is also inconsistent with estimated Hadean Earth. Prebiotic environments rich in boron are reportedly ideal for abiotic RNA synthesis. However, the effects of boron on amino acid polymerization are unclear. We report that boric acid enables the polymerization of amino acids at acidic and near-neutral pH levels based on simple heating experiments of amino acid solutions containing borate/boric acid at various pH levels. Our study provides evidence for the boron-assisted synthesis of polypeptides in prebiotically plausible environments, where the same conditions would allow for the formation of RNAs and interactions of primordial proteins and RNAs that could be inherited by RNA-dependent protein synthesis during the evolution of life.
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