Goals and objectives RNA world theories posit that ribonucleic acid (RNA) strands played a much larger role in ancient biology than they do now, acting both as the dominant biocatalysts and as the…

This federal contract award is for a cooperative agreement with Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, a non-profit organization, to evaluate the impact of local environments on the functional potential of ribonucleic acid (RNA). The objectives are to better understand the role of RNA in the emergence of life by probing a wider range of environmental conditions than previous in vitro evolution studies. The award, valued at $448,622.00, is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center and is not designated as a set-aside. Blue Marble Space has received numerous federal contract and grant awards, primarily from NASA and the National Science Foundation, to support their research in astrobiology, planetary science, and STEM education. This project aligns with NASA's broader goals in fields like life detection, climate modeling, and planetary exploration.

Goals and objectives RNA world theories posit that ribonucleic acid (RNA) strands played a much larger role in ancient biology than they do now, acting both as the dominant biocatalysts and as the repository of genetic information. The potential role of RNA in the origin of life is informed by the diversity of functions that have been demonstrated by using in vitro evolution, such as RNA molecules that bind diverse molecular targets (aptamers) and rnas that catalyze multiple reactions (ribozymes). The potential for these ribozyme activities to support life prior to coded protein synthesis depends not only on their mere existence, but also on their abundance within random sequence space, the minimal length needed for function, and the efficiency and fidelity with which these functions can be carried out. All of the above factors are complicated by the fact that they not only depend on the properties of RNA, but they also depend upon the environments in which these functions evolve. IT is the impact of the environment on these factors that is the focus of this proposal. The objective of this proposal is to evaluate the impact of the local environment on the functional potential of RNA. The functions exhibited by RNA in modern biology and those discovered independent of biology through in vitro evolution have been used to developed and constrain theories about the role of RNA in the emergence of life. The range of conditions under which in vitro evolution has been used to probe random sequence space for functional rnas is far narrower than the range of conditions under which RNA is proposed to have functioned in the very earliest forms of life, or under which IT is known to be functional in extant biology. This proposal will dramatically expand the range of conditions under which random sequence space has been probed for function. This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the functional potential of this early biopolymer, and thereby provide a more solid experimental basis for theories of ancient life.