5.5 RNA world

. RNA world A typical cell contains about ten times as much RNA as DNA. The high RNA content is mainly due to the variety of roles played by RNA in the cell. Fraenkel-Conrat and Singer ( ) first demonstrated that RNA is the genetic material in RNA containing viruses like TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus) and they XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- Molecular Genetics RNA genome with shorter life span can mutate and evolve faster. The above discussion indicates that both RNA and DNA can function as a genetic material. DNA is more stable, and is preferred for storage of genetic information.