DNA and RNA we often think of on a global scale of being the code for life and allows cells to produce copies of themselves etc. but when we throw endosymbiosis into the mix, or viral replication, its helpful to visualize DNA/RNA as a resource, the perfect combination of subunits that allows for the production of something cool.
endosymbiosis, when one cell engulfs another and takes it hostage forever, may have been the origin of both mitochondria (animals) and chloroplasts (plants). the "proto-mitochondrion" is the hypothetical bacteria that was basically a free-living mitochondrion (so an energy factory) who got engulfed by another cell. Wiki below notes "They concluded that this organism was an aerobic alpha-proteobacterium catabolyzing lipids, glycerol and other compounds provided by the host."
the exact nature of their relationship is unclear (parasitism, commensalism, etc) but the host cell basically said "dang, you're a good-looking bag of DNA, ima steal you" and so he did. DNA/RNA is only as important as the proteins it creates are; its all about the proteins baby. the proto-bacterium had figured out how to arrange DNA in such the perfect combination that it created unique and efficient enzymes, machines that could process environmental items into useful materials. the cell with the most useful and fancy enzymes wins, so amassing a huge collection of useful enzymes (like the host cell did) was a good idea.
and so evolution is the race to obtain the coolest strands of DNA.
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