The rna world hypothesis proposes that when life first evolved, rna both stored genetic information and directed the synthesis of proteins. according to the hypothesis, dna evolved from rna, and then it replaced rna as the genetic storage molecule. several observations that support the rna world hypothesis are given below.
rna stores genetic information.
rna can replicate itself.
rna is structurally similar to dna.
rna synthesizes proteins.
in contrast to rna, dna is not able to directly synthesize proteins nor can it replicate itself. however, according to the hypothesis, dna was able to replace rna as the genetic storage molecule.