It must also be able to reproduce the information needed to produce these enzymes.
Proteins are polymers of amino acids, while nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides.
But the DNA itself codes for the proteins, yet requires at least 50 proteins for the necessary decoding, and still others for replication. Thus the code can not be translated except by using certain products of its translation. The obvious conclusion is that both the DNA and proteins must have been functional from the beginning, otherwise life could not exist. The obvious conclusion is that both the DNA and proteins must have been functional from the beginning, otherwise life could not exist. To avoid this conclusion, some evolutionists have theorised that one type of molecule could perform both catalytic and reproductive roles.