AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -However, Sidney Altman, Thomas Cech and colleagues discovered a class of RNAs that is capable of catalyzing chemical reactions ─ ribozymes. Altman and Cech were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989 for this discovery. The discovery of ribozymes supported the RNA World Hypothesis.

Detailed explanation-2: -So, Most biologists think that RNA was the first genetic material because, the existence of ribozymes suggests that early cells could have used RNA to catalyze chemical reactions and transfer information.

Detailed explanation-3: -It acts to cut a longer strand of RNA into two smaller segments. The discovery of ribozymes supported a hypothesis, known as the RNA World Hypothesis, that earlier forms of life may have relied solely on RNA to store genetic information and to catalyze chemical reactions.

Detailed explanation-4: -The RNA world hypothesis is supported by the observations that ribosomes are ribozymes: the catalytic site is composed of RNA, and proteins hold no major structural role and are of peripheral functional importance. This was confirmed with the deciphering of the 3-dimensional structure of the ribosome in 2001.

Detailed explanation-5: -Overall the RNA world hypothesis is supported by RNA’s ability to transmit, store and duplicate genetic information as DNA does. Because it can reproduce on its own, performing the task of both DNA and protein, RNA is believed to have once been capable of independent life.