1
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Pozarycki C, Seaton KM, C Vincent E, Novak Sanders C, Nuñez N, Castillo M, Ingall E, Klempay B, Pontefract A, Fisher LA, Paris ER, Buessecker S, Alansson NB, Carr CE, Doran PT, Bowman JS, Schmidt BE, Stockton AM. Biosignature Molecules Accumulate and Persist in Evaporitic Brines: Implications for Planetary Exploration. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:795-812. [PMID: 39159437 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/21/2024]
Abstract
The abundance of potentially habitable hypersaline environments in our solar system compels us to understand the impacts of high-salt matrices and brine dynamics on biosignature detection efforts. We identified and quantified organic compounds in brines from South Bay Salt Works (SBSW), where evapoconcentration of ocean water enables exploration of the impact of NaCl- and MgCl2-dominated brines on the detection of potential biosignature molecules. In SBSW, organic biosignature abundance and distribution are likely influenced by evapoconcentration, osmolyte accumulation, and preservation effects. Bioluminescence assays show that adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations are higher in NaCl-rich, low water activity (aw) samples (<0.85) from SBSW. This is consistent with the accumulation and preservation of ATP at low aw as described in past laboratory studies. The water-soluble small organic molecule inventory was determined by using microchip capillary electrophoresis paired with high-resolution mass spectrometry (µCE-HRMS). We analyzed the relative distribution of proteinogenic amino acids with a recently developed quantitative method using CE-separation and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection of amino acids in hypersaline brines. Salinity trends for dissolved free amino acids were consistent with amino acid residue abundance determined from the proteome of the microbial community predicted from metagenomic data. This highlights a tangible connection up and down the "-omics" ladder across changing geochemical conditions. The detection of water-soluble organic compounds, specifically proteinogenic amino acids at high abundance (>7 mM) in concentrated brines, demonstrates that potential organic biomarkers accumulate at hypersaline sites and suggests the possibility of long-term preservation. The detection of such molecules in high abundance when using diverse analytical tools appropriate for spacecraft suggests that life detection within hypersaline environments, such as evaporates on Mars and the surface or subsurface brines of ocean world Europa, is plausible and argues such environments should be a high priority for future exploration. Key Words: Salts-Analytical chemistry-Amino acids-Biosignatures-Capillary electrophoresis-Preservation. Astrobiology 24, 795-812.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad Pozarycki
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Kenneth M Seaton
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Emily C Vincent
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Carlie Novak Sanders
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Nickie Nuñez
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Mariah Castillo
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Ellery Ingall
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Benjamin Klempay
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | | | - Luke A Fisher
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Emily R Paris
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Steffen Buessecker
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Nikolas B Alansson
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Christopher E Carr
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Peter T Doran
- Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Jeff S Bowman
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Britney E Schmidt
- Departments of Astronomy and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Amanda M Stockton
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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2
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Mittal S, Nisler C, Szostak JW. Simulations predict preferred Mg 2+ coordination in a nonenzymatic primer-extension reaction center. Biophys J 2024; 123:1579-1591. [PMID: 38702884 PMCID: PMC11214020 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanism by which genetic information was copied prior to the evolution of ribozymes is of great interest because of its importance to the origin of life. The most effective known process for the nonenzymatic copying of an RNA template is primer extension by a two-step pathway in which 2-aminoimidazole-activated nucleotides first react with each other to form an imidazolium-bridged intermediate that subsequently reacts with the primer. Reaction kinetics, structure-activity relationships, and X-ray crystallography have provided insight into the overall reaction mechanism, but many puzzles remain. In particular, high concentrations of Mg2+ are required for efficient primer extension, but the mechanism by which Mg2+ accelerates primer extension remains unknown. By analogy with the mechanism of DNA and RNA polymerases, a role for Mg2+ in facilitating the deprotonation of the primer 3'-hydroxyl is often assumed, but no catalytic metal ion is seen in crystal structures of the primer-extension complex. To explore the potential effects of Mg2+ binding in the reaction center, we performed atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of a series of modeled complexes in which a Mg2+ ion was placed in the reaction center with inner-sphere coordination with different sets of functional groups. Our simulations suggest that coordination of a Mg2+ ion with both O3' of the terminal primer nucleotide and the pro-Sp nonbridging oxygen of the reactive phosphate of an imidazolium-bridged dinucleotide would help to pre-organize the structure of the primer/template substrate complex to favor the primer-extension reaction. Our results suggest that the catalytic metal ion may play an important role in overcoming electrostatic repulsion between a deprotonated O3' and the reactive phosphate of the bridged dinucleotide and lead to testable predictions of the mode of Mg2+ binding that is most relevant to catalysis of primer extension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shriyaa Mittal
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Collin Nisler
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
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3
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Brack Y, Sun C, Yi D, Bornscheuer UT. Systematic Analysis of the MIO-forming Residues of Aromatic Ammonia Lyases. Chembiochem 2024; 25:e202400016. [PMID: 38323706 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202400016] [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: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Aromatic ammonia lyases (AALs) and tyrosine/phenylalanine ammonia mutases (TAM/PAM) are 3,5-dihydro-5-methylidene-4H-imidazol-4-one (MIO)-dependent enzymes. Usually, the MIO moiety is autocatalytically formed from the tripeptide Ala-Ser-Gly (ASG) and acts as an electrophile during the enzymatic reaction. However, the MIO-forming residues (ASG) have some diversity in this enzyme class. In this work, a systematic investigation on the variety of MIO-forming residues was carried out using in-depth sequence analyses. Several protein clusters of AAL-like enzymes with unusual MIO-forming residues such as ACG, TSG, SSG, and CSG were identified, including two novel histidine ammonia lyases and one PAM with CSG and TSG residues, respectively, as well as three novel ergothioneine trimethylammonia lyases without MIO motif. The mutagenesis of common MIO-groups confirmed the function of these MIO variants, which provides good starting points for future functional prediction and mutagenesis research of AALs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannik Brack
- Dept. of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 4, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Chenghai Sun
- Dept. of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 4, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Dong Yi
- Dept. of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 4, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
- National Key Laboratory of Lead Druggability Research, Research Center for Systems Biosynthesis, China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, Gebaini Road 285, 201203, Shanghai, China
| | - Uwe T Bornscheuer
- Dept. of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 4, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
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4
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Filer CN, Ullas GV. A synthesis of [ 14 C]formamidine acetate. J Labelled Comp Radiopharm 2022; 65:187-190. [PMID: 35343602 DOI: 10.1002/jlcr.3971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The one step synthesis of [14 C]formamidine acetate from [14 C]barium cyanamide is described with product characterization by TLC and proton NMR.
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5
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Frenkel-Pinter M, Sargon AB, Glass JB, Hud NV, Williams LD. Transition metals enhance prebiotic depsipeptide oligomerization reactions involving histidine. RSC Adv 2021; 11:3534-3538. [PMID: 35424306 PMCID: PMC8694183 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra07965k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Biochemistry exhibits an intense dependence on metals. Here we show that during dry-down reactions, zinc and a few other transition metals increase the yield of long histidine-containing depsipeptides, which contain both ester and amide linkages. Our results suggest that interactions of proto-peptides with metal ions influenced early chemical evolution. Transition metals enhance prebiotic proto-peptide oligomerization reactions through direct association with histidine.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Moran Frenkel-Pinter
- NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution USA .,School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA.,NASA Center for the Origins of Life, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Alyssa B Sargon
- NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution USA .,School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Jennifer B Glass
- NASA Center for the Origins of Life, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA.,School of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Nicholas V Hud
- NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution USA .,School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA.,NASA Center for the Origins of Life, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Loren Dean Williams
- NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution USA .,School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA.,NASA Center for the Origins of Life, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
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6
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Kimura M, Akanuma S. Reconstruction and Characterization of Thermally Stable and Catalytically Active Proteins Comprising an Alphabet of ~ 13 Amino Acids. J Mol Evol 2020; 88:372-381. [PMID: 32201904 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09938-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
While extant organisms synthesize proteins using approximately 20 kinds of genetically coded amino acids, the earliest protein synthesis system is likely to have been much simpler, utilizing a reduced set of amino acids. However, which types of building blocks were involved in primordial protein synthesis remains unclear. Herein, we reconstructed three convergent sequences of an ancestral nucleoside diphosphate kinase, each comprising a 10 amino acid "alphabet," and found that two of these variants folded into soluble and stable tertiary structures. Therefore, an alphabet consisting of 10 amino acids contains sufficient information for creating stable proteins. Furthermore, re-incorporation of a few more amino acid types into the active site of the 10 amino acid variants improved the catalytic activity, although the specific activity was not as high as that of extant proteins. Collectively, our results provide experimental support for the idea that robust protein scaffolds can be built with a subset of the current 20 amino acids that might have existed abundantly in the prebiotic environment, while the other amino acids, especially those with functional sidechains, evolved to contribute to efficient enzyme catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madoka Kimura
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
| | - Satoshi Akanuma
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
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7
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Prebiotic Phosphorylation of Uridine using Diamidophosphate in Aerosols. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13527. [PMID: 31537885 PMCID: PMC6753121 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49947-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the most challenging fundamental problems in establishing prebiotically plausible routes for phosphorylation reactions using phosphate is that they are thermodynamically unfavorable in aqueous conditions. Diamidophosphate (DAP), a potentially prebiotically relevant compound, was shown to phosphorylate nucleosides in aqueous medium, albeit at a very slow rate (days/weeks). Here, we demonstrate that performing these reactions within an aerosol environment, a suitable model for the early Earth ocean-air interface, yields higher reaction rates when compared to bulk solution, thus overcoming these rate limitations. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the effective conversion (~6.5–10%) of uridine to uridine-2′,3′-cyclophosphate in less than 1 h. These results suggest that aerosol environments are a possible scenario in which prebiotic phosphorylation could have occurred despite unfavorable rates in bulk solution.
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8
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Hernández-Morales R, Becerra A, Lazcano A. Alarmones as Vestiges of a Bygone RNA World. J Mol Evol 2019; 87:37-51. [PMID: 30604017 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-018-9883-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
All known alarmones are ribonucleotides or ribonucleotide derivatives that are synthesized when cells are under stress conditions, triggering a stringent response that affects major processes such as replication, gene expression, and metabolism. The ample phylogenetic distribution of alarmones (e.g., cAMP, Ap(n)A, cGMP, AICAR, and ZTP) suggests that they are very ancient molecules that may have already been present in cellular systems prior to the evolutionary divergence of the Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya domains. Their chemical structure, wide biological distribution, and functional role in highly conserved cellular processes support the possibility that these modified nucleotides are molecular fossils of an epoch in the evolution of chemical signaling and metabolite sensing during which RNA molecules played a much more conspicuous role in biological catalysis and genetic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Hernández-Morales
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Arturo Becerra
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Antonio Lazcano
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico. .,Miembro de El Colegio Nacional, Donceles 104, Centro Histórico, 06000, Mexico City, Mexico.
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9
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Fernández-García C, Grefenstette NM, Powner MW. Selective aqueous acetylation controls the photoanomerization of α-cytidine-5'-phosphate. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018; 54:4850-4853. [PMID: 29697101 DOI: 10.1039/c8cc01929k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic acids are central to information transfer and replication in living systems, providing the molecular foundations of Darwinian evolution. Here we report that prebiotic acetylation of the non-natural, but prebiotically plausible, ribonucleotide α-cytidine-5'-phosphate, selectively protects the vicinal diol moiety. Vicinal diol acetylation blocks oxazolidinone formation and prevents C2'-epimerization upon irradiation with UV-light. Consequently, acetylation enhances (4-fold) the photoanomerization of α-cytidine-5'-phosphate to produce the natural β-pyrimidine ribonucleotide-5'-phosphates required for RNA synthesis.
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10
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Evolutionary convergence in the biosyntheses of the imidazole moieties of histidine and purines. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196349. [PMID: 29698445 PMCID: PMC5919458 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The imidazole group is an ubiquitous chemical motif present in several key types of biomolecules. It is a structural moiety of purines, and plays a central role in biological catalysis as part of the side-chain of histidine, the amino acid most frequently found in the catalytic site of enzymes. Histidine biosynthesis starts with both ATP and the pentose phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP), which is also the precursor for the de novo synthesis of purines. These two anabolic pathways are also connected by the imidazole intermediate 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide (AICAR), which is synthesized in both routes but used only in purine biosynthesis. Rather surprisingly, the imidazole moieties of histidine and purines are synthesized by different, non-homologous enzymes. As discussed here, this phenomenon can be understood as a case of functional molecular convergence. Results In this work, we analyze these polyphyletic processes and argue that the independent origin of the corresponding enzymes is best explained by the differences in the function of each of the molecules to which the imidazole moiety is attached. Since the imidazole present in histidine is a catalytic moiety, its chemical arrangement allows it to act as an acid or a base. On the contrary, the de novo biosynthesis of purines starts with an activated ribose and all the successive intermediates are ribotides, with the key β-glycosidic bondage joining the ribose and the imidazole moiety. This prevents purine ribonucleotides to exhibit any imidazole-dependent catalytic activity, and may have been the critical trait for the evolution of two separate imidazole-synthesizing-enzymes. We also suggest that, in evolutionary terms, the biosynthesis of purines predated that of histidine. Conclusions As reviewed here, other biosynthetic routes for imidazole molecules are also found in extant metabolism, including the autocatalytic cyclization that occurs during the formation of creatinine from creatine phosphate, as well as the internal cyclization of the Ala-Ser-Gly motif of some members of the ammonia-lyase and aminomutase families, that lead to the MIO cofactor. The diversity of imidazole-synthesizing pathways highlights the biological significance of this key chemical group, whose biosyntheses evolved independently several times.
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11
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Comprehensive reduction of amino acid set in a protein suggests the importance of prebiotic amino acids for stable proteins. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1227. [PMID: 29352156 PMCID: PMC5775292 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19561-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern organisms commonly use the same set of 20 genetically coded amino acids for protein synthesis with very few exceptions. However, earlier protein synthesis was plausibly much simpler than modern one and utilized only a limited set of amino acids. Nevertheless, few experimental tests of this issue with arbitrarily chosen amino acid sets had been reported prior to this report. Herein we comprehensively and systematically reduced the size of the amino acid set constituting an ancestral nucleoside kinase that was reconstructed in our previous study. We eventually found that two convergent sequences, each comprised of a 13-amino acid alphabet, folded into soluble, stable and catalytically active structures, even though their stabilities and activities were not as high as those of the parent protein. Notably, many but not all of the reduced-set amino acids coincide with those plausibly abundant in primitive Earth. The inconsistent amino acids appeared to be important for catalytic activity but not for stability. Therefore, our findings suggest that the prebiotically abundant amino acids were used for creating stable protein structures and other amino acids with functional side chains were recruited to achieve efficient catalysis.
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12
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Abstract
The reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle is among the most plausible candidates for the first autotrophic metabolism in the earliest life. Extant enzymes fixing CO2 in this cycle contain cofactors at the catalytic centers, but it is unlikely that the protein/cofactor system emerged at once in a prebiotic process. Here, we discuss the feasibility of non-enzymatic cofactor-assisted drive of the rTCA reactions in the primitive Earth environments, particularly focusing on the acetyl-CoA conversion to pyruvate. Based on the energetic and mechanistic aspects of this reaction, we propose that the deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments with active electricity generation in the presence of various sulfide catalysts are a promising setting for it to progress. Our view supports the theory of an autotrophic origin of life from primordial carbon assimilation within a sulfide-rich hydrothermal vent.
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13
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Fahrenbach AC, Giurgiu C, Tam CP, Li L, Hongo Y, Aono M, Szostak JW. Common and Potentially Prebiotic Origin for Precursors of Nucleotide Synthesis and Activation. J Am Chem Soc 2017. [PMID: 28640999 PMCID: PMC6326526 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b01562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
![]()
We
have recently shown that 2-aminoimidazole is a superior nucleotide
activating group for nonenzymatic RNA copying. Here we describe a
prebiotic synthesis of 2-aminoimidazole that shares a common mechanistic
pathway with that of 2-aminooxazole, a previously described key intermediate
in prebiotic nucleotide synthesis. In the presence of glycolaldehyde,
cyanamide, phosphate and ammonium ion, both 2-aminoimidazole and 2-aminooxazole
are produced, with higher concentrations of ammonium ion and acidic
pH favoring the former. Given a 1:1 mixture of 2-aminoimidazole and
2-aminooxazole, glyceraldehyde preferentially reacts and cyclizes
with the latter, forming a mixture of pentose aminooxazolines, and
leaving free 2-aminoimidazole available for nucleotide activation.
The common synthetic origin of 2-aminoimidazole and 2-aminooxazole
and their distinct reactivities are suggestive of a reaction network
that could lead to both the synthesis of RNA monomers and to their
subsequent chemical activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert C Fahrenbach
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Constantin Giurgiu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Chun Pong Tam
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Li Li
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
| | - Yayoi Hongo
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
| | - Masashi Aono
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.,Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University , 5322 Endo, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0882, Japan
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.,Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
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14
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Wieczorek R, Adamala K, Gasperi T, Polticelli F, Stano P. Small and Random Peptides: An Unexplored Reservoir of Potentially Functional Primitive Organocatalysts. The Case of Seryl-Histidine. Life (Basel) 2017; 7:E19. [PMID: 28397774 PMCID: PMC5492141 DOI: 10.3390/life7020019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Catalysis is an essential feature of living systems biochemistry, and probably, it played a key role in primordial times, helping to produce more complex molecules from simple ones. However, enzymes, the biocatalysts par excellence, were not available in such an ancient context, and so, instead, small molecule catalysis (organocatalysis) may have occurred. The best candidates for the role of primitive organocatalysts are amino acids and short random peptides, which are believed to have been available in an early period on Earth. In this review, we discuss the occurrence of primordial organocatalysts in the form of peptides, in particular commenting on reports about seryl-histidine dipeptide, which have recently been investigated. Starting from this specific case, we also mention a peptide fragment condensation scenario, as well as other potential roles of peptides in primordial times. The review actually aims to stimulate further investigation on an unexplored field of research, namely one that specifically looks at the catalytic activity of small random peptides with respect to reactions relevant to prebiotic chemistry and early chemical evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafal Wieczorek
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Adamala
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Tecla Gasperi
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy.
| | - Fabio Polticelli
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy.
- National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Roma Tre Section, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Rome, Italy.
| | - Pasquale Stano
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Campus Ecotekne (S.P. 6 Lecce-Monteroni), 73100 Lecce, Italy.
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