Issue 30, 2016

On the lack of evolutionary continuity between prebiotic peptides and extant enzymes

Abstract

The significance of experiments that claim to simulate the properties of prebiotic small peptides and polypeptides as models of the polymers that may have preceded proteins is critically addressed. As discussed here, most of these experiments are based only on a small number of a larger set of amino acids that may have been present in the prebiotic environment, supported by both experimental simulations and the repertoire of organic compounds reported in carbonaceous chondrites. Model experiments with small peptides may offer some insights into the processes that contributed to generate the chemical environment leading to the emergence of informational oligomers, but not to the origin of proteins. The large body of circumstantial evidence indicating that catalytic RNA played a key role in the origin of protein synthesis during the early stages of cellular evolution implies that the emergence of the genetic code and of protein biosynthesis are no longer synonymous with the origin of life. Hence, reports on the abiotic synthesis of small catalytic peptides under potential prebiotic conditions do not provide information on the origin of triplet encoded protein biosynthesis, but in some cases may serve as models to understand the properties of the earliest proteins.

Graphical abstract: On the lack of evolutionary continuity between prebiotic peptides and extant enzymes

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
04 Feb 2016
Accepted
19 Apr 2016
First published
28 Apr 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 20028-20032

On the lack of evolutionary continuity between prebiotic peptides and extant enzymes

L. Raggi, J. L. Bada and A. Lazcano, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 20028 DOI: 10.1039/C6CP00793G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements