Some biochemical properties of an acyclic oligonucleotide analogue. A plausible ancestor of the DNA

As acyclic oligonucleotides have been suggested as a primitive model of DNA or RNA in prebiotic times, we compared some biochemical properties of these analogues to that of natural ones. Firstly, an acyclic analogue of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates was tested as a potential substrate of enzymes intervening in nucleic acids synthesis. GlyTTP, a dTTP analogue with a missing 2′-methylene group is notaccepted as a substrate by either DNA polymerase or deoxynucleotidyl terminal transferase (TdT). Secondly, themodified dodecathymidylate (GlyT)12, the racemic acyclic sugar analogue of (dT)12, proved to be anefficient primer for DNA polymerase and TdT, though the associative properties of (GlyT)12 are very weak as shown by UV spectroscopy in phosphate buffer without magnesium chloride. But (GlyT)12 has the advantage to be 500-times more stable against hydrolysis by snake venom phosphodiesterase than the corresponding oligothymidylate.