University of Guelph Awarded Sloan Foundation Grant to Explore Life’s Chemical Origins

Could life begin differently? A new University of Guelph project aims to find out with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in collaboration with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Elm Research Laboratories. 

Dr. Derek O’Flaherty, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, will lead the Guelph arm of the three-year, $800,000 collaboration, which aims to investigate how life might emerge from genetic materials other than ribonucleic acid (RNA), expanding our understanding of what is possible for life in the universe. 

O’Flaherty’s team will focus on the first stage of the project: creating the chemical building blocks for alternative genetic systems. These molecules, called NP-nucleic acids, have a slightly different backbone than DNA or RNA and could represent a plausible route for life to begin. While scientists know how to make similar molecules in the lab, the challenge is to design ways they could form under primordial conditions like those found on young planets. 

The Guelph-based team will use proven multi-step synthesis methods to make these building blocks from simple starting materials. Once the basic units are made, the team will prepare more complex forms that can be tested for their ability to store and copy information, two essential features of life. 

“This work asks a big question: could life have started with something other than RNA, the commonly understood starting point?” says Dr. O’Flaherty. “By building these molecules and studying their properties, we hope to uncover new clues about the chemical flexibility of life.” 

The project will also provide hands-on training for graduate students in advanced synthesis and analysis, reinforcing the University of Guelph’s hands-on training and research leadership using cutting-edge instrumentation.