Lilou Debarnot

Doctoral student in biophysical chemistry.

The appearance of polynucleotides, the carriers of the genetic code, remains a mystery. Indeed, the polymerisation of nucleotides into DNA or RNA seems impossible without the intervention of enzymes, which appeared after them. However, on the primitive Earth, mineral surfaces and natural nanoparticles were able to provide reactive interfaces likely to favour the organisation and concentration of molecules. Among these structures, imogolite nanotubes, formed in volcanic soils, have particular properties: their alumina-rich surface is capable of binding phosphate groups, activating monomers and facilitating their condensation. This project explores the possibility that these nanostructures could have promoted the oligomerisation of nucleotides, and thus the formation of the first DNA/RNA strands. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms potentially responsible for the origin of life.