Rutgers scientists identify substance that may have sparked life on
Earth
Research could provide clues to extraterrestrial life
Date:
March 10, 2023
Source:
Rutgers University
Summary:
A team of scientists dedicated to pinpointing the primordial
origins of metabolism -- a set of core chemical reactions that
first powered life on Earth -- has identified part of a protein
that could provide scientists clues to detecting planets on the
verge of producing life.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of Rutgers scientists dedicated to pinpointing the primordial
origins of metabolism -- a set of core chemical reactions that first
powered life on Earth -- has identified part of a protein that could
provide scientists clues to detecting planets on the verge of producing
life.
==========================================================================
The research, published in Science Advances, has important implications
in the search for extraterrestrial life because it gives researchers a
new clue to look for, said Vikas Nanda, a researcher at the Center for
Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) at Rutgers.
Based on laboratory studies, Rutgers scientists say one of the most likely chemical candidates that kickstarted life was a simple peptide with two
nickel atoms they are calling "Nickelback" not because it has anything
to do with the Canadian rock band, but because its backbone nitrogen
atoms bond two critical nickel atoms. A peptide is a constituent of a
protein made up of a few elemental building blocks known as amino acids.
"Scientists believe that sometime between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years ago
there was a tipping point, something that kickstarted the change from
prebiotic chemistry -- molecules before life -- to living, biological
systems," Nanda said. "We believe the change was sparked by a few small precursor proteins that performed key steps in an ancient metabolic
reaction. And we think we've found one of these 'pioneer peptides'."
The scientists conducting the study are part of a Rutgers-led team called Evolution of Nanomachines in Geospheres and Microbial Ancestors (ENIGMA),
which is part of the Astrobiology program at NASA. The researchers are
seeking to understand how proteins evolved to become the predominant
catalyst of life on Earth.
When scouring the universe with telescopes and probes for signs of
past, present or emerging life, NASA scientists look for specific "biosignatures" known to be harbingers of life. Peptides like nickelback
could become the latest biosignature employed by NASA to detect planets
on the verge of producing life, Nanda said.
An original instigating chemical, the researchers reasoned, would need
to be simple enough to be able to assemble spontaneously in a prebiotic
soup. But it would have to be sufficiently chemically active to possess
the potential to take energy from the environment to drive a biochemical process.
To do so, the researchers adopted a "reductionist" approach: They started
by examining existing contemporary proteins known to be associated
with metabolic processes. Knowing the proteins were too complex to have
emerged early on, they pared them down to their basic structure.
After sequences of experiments, researchers concluded the best candidate
was Nickelback. The peptide is made of 13 amino acids and binds two
nickel ions.
Nickel, they reasoned, was an abundant metal in early oceans. When bound
to the peptide, the nickel atoms become potent catalysts, attracting
additional protons and electrons and producing hydrogen gas. Hydrogen,
the researchers reasoned, was also more abundant on early Earth and
would have been a critical source of energy to power metabolism.
"This is important because, while there are many theories about the
origins of life, there are very few actual laboratory tests of these
ideas," Nanda said.
"This work shows that, not only are simple protein metabolic enzymes
possible, but that they are very stable and very active -- making them
a plausible starting point for life."
* RELATED_TOPICS
o Matter_&_Energy
# Organic_Chemistry # Biochemistry # Batteries
o Earth_&_Climate
# Sustainability # Earth_Science # Geochemistry
o Fossils_&_Ruins
# Origin_of_Life # Charles_Darwin # Early_Climate
* RELATED_TERMS
o Autocatalysis o Paleoclimatology o Earth_science o
Structure_of_the_Earth o Earth o Gravitation o Mantle_plume
o Protein
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Rutgers_University. Original written
by Kitta MacPherson.
Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. , Jan A. Siess, Paul M. Molinaro, James J. McCann, Kate M. Waldie,
Ronald
L. Koder , Paul G. Falkowski, and Vikas Nanda. Design of a minimal
di- nickel hydrogenase peptide. Science Advances, 2023 DOI:
10.1126/ sciadv.abq1990 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230310143648.htm
--- up 1 year, 1 week, 4 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)