UCL study recreates first step toward RNA-driven protein synthesis

Chemists at University College London reported on August 28, 2025 that they have recreated a plausible first step in the origin of protein synthesis, showing how amino acids could spontaneously attach to RNA under conditions thought to resemble early Earth. The results, published in Nature, demonstrate a chemical pathway in which amino acids are activated by sulfur-bearing compounds to form thioesters and then transferred to RNA in water at neutral pH, a process the authors say could have occurred in freshwater pools or lakes more than four billion years ago.

The team, led by Professor Matthew Powner of UCL's Department of Chemistry, said the reactions are spontaneous and selective and represent the initial stage of a process that today is carried out by the complex molecular machine called the ribosome. "Life relies on the ability to synthesise proteins," Powner said. "Understanding the origin of protein synthesis is fundamental to understanding where life came from. Our study is a big step towards this goal, showing how RNA might have first come to control protein synthesis."

In the experiments, amino acids first reacted with pantetheine, a sulfur-bearing molecule that the...