Leslie Orgel is widely considered the "father of the RNA world theory". He was a prominent theoretical chemist at the Salk Institute, renowned for his groundbreaking work on the origin of life. His RNA world theory posits that RNA, not DNA, was the primary genetic material in early life forms. While he didn't discover RNA itself (that discovery predates him, with Friedrich Miescher discovering nucleic acids in 1868 and naming them "nuclein"), his contributions to understanding RNA's role in the origin of life are monumental.
Several sources explicitly state this:
- The Los Angeles Times obituary for Leslie Orgel describes him as "the father of the RNA world theory of the origin of life". (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-oct-31-me-orgel31-story.html)
- Multiple online sources including Toppr.com (https://www.toppr.com/guides/biology/difference-between/dna-and-rna/) repeat this assertion.
It's important to note that the question of "who is the father of RNA" is slightly ambiguous. There is no single individual who discovered RNA, as its discovery was a process involving multiple scientists. However, if the question refers to the foundational theory that explains RNA's crucial role in the origins of life, then the answer is definitively Leslie Orgel. The impact of paternal RNA through sperm on offspring is also a significant area of current research, as evidenced by several studies on the topic (https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioy007, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4131544/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29514212/, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01502-w, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07472-3, https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/14/2/201). These studies, however, relate to the role of RNA inherited from the father, not the discovery or theoretical framing of RNA itself.
