Data from: Random-sequence genetic oligomer pools display an innate potential for ligation and recombination

Recombination, the exchange of information between different genetic
polymer strands, is of fundamental importance in biology for genome
maintenance and genetic diversification mediated by dedicated recombinase
enzymes. Here, we describe a pervasive non-enzymatic capacity for
recombination (and ligation) in random-sequence genetic oligomer pools.
Specifically, we examine random and semi-random eicosamer (N20) pools of
RNA, DNA and the unnatural genetic polymers ANA (arabino-), HNA (hexitol-)
and AtNA (altritol-nucleic acids). While DNA, ANA and HNA pools proved
inert, RNA and AtNA pools displayed diverse modes of spontaneous
intermolecular recombination, connecting recombination mechanistically to
the vicinal ring cis-diol configuration shared by RNA and AtNA. Thus, the
chemical constitution that renders both susceptible to hydrolysis emerges
as the fundamental determinant of an innate capacity for recombination,
which is shown to enable a concomitant increase in compositional,
informational and structural pool complexity and hence evolutionary
potential.