Final answer:
Montmorillonite has been experimentally shown to catalyze the formation of RNA chains from nucleotides, supporting the RNA world hypothesis where RNA was both genetic material and a catalyst before the evolution of protein enzymes and DNA.
Step-by-step explanation:
Role of Clay Minerals in Primitive Catalysis
Clay minerals such as montmorillonite have been experimentally validated to catalyze the formation of RNA chains from nucleotides under laboratory conditions. This discovery supports the hypothesis of an RNA world where life could have begun with RNA molecules acting as both genetic information carriers and as catalysts. Montmorillonite and other clays might have provided surfaces that facilitated the polymerization of RNA monomers, which is a fundamental step towards the formation of more complex life-forms.
Montmorillonite is not hypothesized to catalyze the formation of DNA molecules or proteins directly, but it may help form membranes from fatty acid molecules. Despite this potential, the experimental evidence specifically concerns RNA synthesis. Therefore, the inorganic catalysts such as montmorillonite are linked primarily with the abiotic formation of RNA-like oligomers. These early stages of chemical evolution set the stage for the later development of protein-based enzymes and DNA as the primary genetic material.
Enzymes, now an integral part of all living organisms, most likely evolved from these simpler mineral-based catalytic processes, with metals like magnesium and manganese, now part of many enzyme structures, suggesting a continuity from inorganic catalytic processes to biological catalysis.