First experimental evidence for the preferential stabilization of the natural D- over the nonnatural L-configuration in nucleic acids

Abstract

The homochirality of biomolecules is a prerequisite for the origin and evolution of terrestrial life. The unique selection of D-monosaccharides, in particular, D-ribose in RNA and D-deoxyribose in DNA, leads to the construction of proteins by L-amino acids. This points to the exclusive role of stereoselectivity in the most important physiological processes. So far, there is no experimental confirmation for the theoretical calculations of the energy differences between enantiomers used for the explanation of the stereoselection of biomolecules. Therefore, the question of why nature prefers one configuration over the other still lacks a definitive answer. Here, we present the first experimental evidence that the D-enantiomer of RNA has a different electronic structure compared to the corresponding L-enantiomer. When varying the incident photon energy of the ultraviolet Raman probe across 5 eV, D- and L-isomers of the RNA duplex with the sequence [r(CUGGGCGG).r(CCGCCUGG)] show differences in the intensity of the vibrational modes with energies of 124.0 meV to 210.8 meV. The intensity difference of these vibrational modes can be traced back to energy differences in the electronic levels of D- and L-RNA leading to the preferential stabilization of the naturally occurring D-configuration of RNA over the L-configuration.