Rna Diversification By A Self-Reproducing Ribozyme Revealed By Deep Sequencing And Kinetic Modelling

We demonstrate that a recombinase ribozyme achieves multiple functions in the same reaction network: self-reproduction, iterative elongation and circularization of other RNAs, leading to synthesis of diverse products predicted by a kinetic model. This shows that key mechanisms can be integrated and controlled toward Darwinian evolution in RNA reaction networks.