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Węgrzyn E, Mejdrová I, Carell T. Gradual evolution of a homo-l-peptide world on homo-d-configured RNA and DNA. Chem Sci 2024:d4sc03384a. [PMID: 39129775 PMCID: PMC11306956 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc03384a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Modern life requires the translation of genetic information - encoded by nucleic acids - into proteins, which establishes the essential link between genotype and phenotype. During translation, exclusively l-amino acids are loaded onto transfer RNA molecules (tRNA), which are then connected at the ribosome to give homo-l-proteins. In contrast to the homo-l-configuration of amino acids and proteins, the oligonucleotides involved are all d-configured (deoxy)ribosides. Previously, others and us have shown that if peptide synthesis occurs at homo d-configured oligonucleotides, a pronounced l-amino acid selectivity is observed, which reflects the d-sugar/l-amino acid world that evolved in nature. Here we further explore this astonishing selectivity. We show a peptide-synthesis/recapture-cycle that can lead to a gradual enrichment and hence selection of a homo-l-peptide world. We show that even if peptides with a mixed l/d-stereochemistry are formed, they are not competitive against the homo-l-counterparts. We also demonstrate that this selectivity is not limited to RNA but that peptide synthesis on DNA features the same l-amino acid preference. In total, the data bring us a step closer to an understanding of how homochirality on Earth once evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Węgrzyn
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Nucleic Acids Therapies at the Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München Butenandtstrasse 5-13 81377 Munich Germany
| | - Ivana Mejdrová
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Nucleic Acids Therapies at the Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München Butenandtstrasse 5-13 81377 Munich Germany
| | - Thomas Carell
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Nucleic Acids Therapies at the Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München Butenandtstrasse 5-13 81377 Munich Germany
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Węgrzyn E, Mejdrová I, Müller FM, Nainytė M, Escobar L, Carell T. RNA-Templated Peptide Bond Formation Promotes L-Homochirality. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202319235. [PMID: 38407532 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202319235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
The world in which we live is homochiral. The ribose units that form the backbone of DNA and RNA are all D-configured and the encoded amino acids that comprise the proteins of all living species feature an all-L-configuration at the α-carbon atoms. The homochirality of α-amino acids is essential for folding of the peptides into well-defined and functional 3D structures and the homochirality of D-ribose is crucial for helix formation and base-pairing. The question of why nature uses only encoded L-α-amino acids is not understood. Herein, we show that an RNA-peptide world, in which peptides grow on RNAs constructed from D-ribose, leads to the self-selection of homo-L-peptides, which provides a possible explanation for the homo-D-ribose and homo-L-amino acid combination seen in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ewa Węgrzyn
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Ivana Mejdrová
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Felix M Müller
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Milda Nainytė
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Luis Escobar
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Carell
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Epigenetics (ICE-M), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, 81377, Munich, Germany
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Dai K, Pol MD, Saile L, Sharma A, Liu B, Thomann R, Trefs JL, Qiu D, Moser S, Wiesler S, Balzer BN, Hugel T, Jessen HJ, Pappas CG. Spontaneous and Selective Peptide Elongation in Water Driven by Aminoacyl Phosphate Esters and Phase Changes. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:26086-26094. [PMID: 37992133 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c07918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Nature chose phosphates to activate amino acids, where reactive intermediates and complex machinery drive the construction of polyamides. Outside of biology, the pathways and mechanisms that allow spontaneous and selective peptide elongation in aqueous abiotic systems remain unclear. Herein we work to uncover those pathways by following the systems chemistry of aminoacyl phosphate esters, synthetic counterparts of aminoacyl adenylates. The phosphate esters act as solubility tags, making hydrophobic amino acids and their oligomers soluble in water and enabling selective elongation and different pathways to emerge. Thus, oligomers up to dodecamers were synthesized in one flask and on the minute time scale, where consecutive additions activated autonomous phase changes. Depending on the pathway, the resulting phases initially carry nonpolar peptides and amphiphilic oligomers containing phosphate esters. During elongation and phosphate release, shorter oligomers dominate in solution, while the aggregated phase favors the presence of longer oligomers due to their self-assembly propensity. Furthermore we demonstrated that the solution phases can be isolated and act as a new environment for continuous elongation, by adding various phosphate esters. These findings suggest that the systems chemistry of aminoacyl phosphate esters can activate a selection mechanism for peptide bond formation by merging aqueous synthesis and self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Dai
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Mahesh D Pol
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lenard Saile
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Arti Sharma
- Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT), University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bin Liu
- College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei 443002, China
| | - Ralf Thomann
- Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT), University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF), University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Strasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Johanna L Trefs
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Danye Qiu
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sandra Moser
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiesler
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bizan N Balzer
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF), University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Strasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thorsten Hugel
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Henning J Jessen
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Charalampos G Pappas
- DFG Cluster of Excellence livMatS @FIT─Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 105, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
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Nogal N, Sanz-Sánchez M, Vela-Gallego S, Ruiz-Mirazo K, de la Escosura A. The protometabolic nature of prebiotic chemistry. Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:7359-7388. [PMID: 37855729 PMCID: PMC10614573 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00594a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
The field of prebiotic chemistry has been dedicated over decades to finding abiotic routes towards the molecular components of life. There is nowadays a handful of prebiotically plausible scenarios that enable the laboratory synthesis of most amino acids, fatty acids, simple sugars, nucleotides and core metabolites of extant living organisms. The major bottleneck then seems to be the self-organization of those building blocks into systems that can self-sustain. The purpose of this tutorial review is having a close look, guided by experimental research, into the main synthetic pathways of prebiotic chemistry, suggesting how they could be wired through common intermediates and catalytic cycles, as well as how recursively changing conditions could help them engage in self-organized and dissipative networks/assemblies (i.e., systems that consume chemical or physical energy from their environment to maintain their internal organization in a dynamic steady state out of equilibrium). In the article we also pay attention to the implications of this view for the emergence of homochirality. The revealed connectivity between those prebiotic routes should constitute the basis for a robust research program towards the bottom-up implementation of protometabolic systems, taken as a central part of the origins-of-life problem. In addition, this approach should foster further exploration of control mechanisms to tame the combinatorial explosion that typically occurs in mixtures of various reactive precursors, thus regulating the functional integration of their respective chemistries into self-sustaining protocellular assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemí Nogal
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Marcos Sanz-Sánchez
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sonia Vela-Gallego
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo
- Biofisika Institute (CSIC, UPV/EHU), University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
- Department of Philosophy, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Andrés de la Escosura
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
- Institute for Advanced Research in Chemistry (IAdChem), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
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McLoughlin EC, O'Brien JE, Trujillo C, Meegan MJ, O'Boyle NM. Application of 2D EXSY and qNMR Spectroscopy for Diastereomeric Excess Determination Following Chiral Resolution of β-Lactams. Chemistry 2022:e202200119. [PMID: 35876400 DOI: 10.1002/open.202200119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Trans-β-lactam isomers have garnered much attention as anti-cancer microtubule targeting agents. Currently available synthetic methods are available for the preparation of enantiopure β-lactams and favour isomeric cis/trans β-lactam mixtures. Indirect chiral resolution offers the opportunity for isolation of exclusively enantiopure trans-β-lactams. In this study, liquid chromatography chiral resolution of β-lactams derivatized as diastereomer mixtures with a panel of N-protected amino acids is explored, where N-(Boc)-L-proline served as the optimal chiral derivatising reagent. High-performance liquid chromatography failed to adequately determine diastereomeric excess (de) of resolved diastereomers. Variable temperature, 1 H NMR and 2D EXSY spectroscopic analyses of proline-derivatised diastereomers were successfully employed to characterise equilibrating rotamers of resolved diastereomers and determine their de. Integration of resolved resonances corresponding to H3 and H4 of the β-lactam ring served as a quantitative qNMR tool for the calculation of de following resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eavan C McLoughlin
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panoz Institute and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - John E O'Brien
- School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Cristina Trujillo
- Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Mary J Meegan
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panoz Institute and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Niamh M O'Boyle
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panoz Institute and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Bremer J, Richter C, Schwalbe H, Richert C. Synthesis of a Peptidoyl RNA Hairpin via a Combination of Solid-Phase and Template-Directed Chain Assembly. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202200352. [PMID: 35867587 PMCID: PMC9542650 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Peptidoyl RNAs are the products of ribosome‐free, single‐nucleotide translation. They contain a peptide in the backbone of the oligoribonucleotide and are interesting from a synthetic and a bioorganic point of view. A synthesis of a stabilized version of peptidoyl RNA, with an amide bond between the C‐terminus of a peptide and a 3′‐amino‐2′,3′‐dideoxynucleoside in the RNA chain was developed. The preferred synthetic route used an N‐Teoc‐protected aminonucleoside support and involved a solution‐phase coupling of the amino‐terminal oligonucleotide to a dipeptido dinucleotide. Exploratory UV‐melting and NMR analysis of the hairpin 5′‐UUGGCGAAAGCdC‐LeuLeu‐AA‐3′ indicated that the peptide‐linked RNA segments do not fold in a cooperative fashion. The synthetic access to doubly RNA‐linked peptides on a scale sufficient for structural biology opens the door to the exploration of their structural and biochemical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Bremer
- University of Stuttgart: Universitat Stuttgart, Chemistry, GERMANY
| | - Christian Richter
- Universität Frankfurt am Main: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main, Chemistry, GERMANY
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Universität Frankfurt am Main: Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main, Chemistry, GERMANY
| | - Clemens Richert
- Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Organische Chemie, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569, Stuttgart, GERMANY
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