I was learning about transcription factors and RNA polymerase from Khan Academy to supplement Dr. Robert Sapolsky's lectures on Human Behavioral Biology. As I understand:
- RNA Polymerase transcribes DNA to RNA
- Transcription factors are proteins that help the RNA Polymerase bind or inhibit it from binding to the DNA and transcribe it to RNA
- Transcription factors called activators help RNA Polymerase bind to the DNA
- Transcription factors called repressors prevent RNA Polymerase from binding to the DNA
It seems like we need transcription factors and RNA Polymerase to express genes and produce their corresponding proteins. But transcription factors and RNA Polymerase are proteins themselves. Thus, they must have come from their own respective genes. This seems like a "chicken and egg" problem.
How did early organisms with genetic material get around this problem?