Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean
Abstract The reaction sequences of central metabolism, glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway provide essential precursors for nucleic acids, amino acids and lipids. However, their evolutionary origins are not yet understood. Here, we provide evidence that their structure could have been funda...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer Nature
2014-04-01
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| Series: | Molecular Systems Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/msb.20145228 |
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| author | Markus A Keller Alexandra V Turchyn Markus Ralser |
| author_facet | Markus A Keller Alexandra V Turchyn Markus Ralser |
| author_sort | Markus A Keller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The reaction sequences of central metabolism, glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway provide essential precursors for nucleic acids, amino acids and lipids. However, their evolutionary origins are not yet understood. Here, we provide evidence that their structure could have been fundamentally shaped by the general chemical environments in earth's earliest oceans. We reconstructed potential scenarios for oceans of the prebiotic Archean based on the composition of early sediments. We report that the resultant reaction milieu catalyses the interconversion of metabolites that in modern organisms constitute glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. The 29 observed reactions include the formation and/or interconversion of glucose, pyruvate, the nucleic acid precursor ribose‐5‐phosphate and the amino acid precursor erythrose‐4‐phosphate, antedating reactions sequences similar to that used by the metabolic pathways. Moreover, the Archean ocean mimetic increased the stability of the phosphorylated intermediates and accelerated the rate of intermediate reactions and pyruvate production. The catalytic capacity of the reconstructed ocean milieu was attributable to its metal content. The reactions were particularly sensitive to ferrous iron Fe(II), which is understood to have had high concentrations in the Archean oceans. These observations reveal that reaction sequences that constitute central carbon metabolism could have been constrained by the iron‐rich oceanic environment of the early Archean. The origin of metabolism could thus date back to the prebiotic world. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9fba111a0dba49ff8f27dae6bf36a537 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1744-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecular Systems Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9fba111a0dba49ff8f27dae6bf36a5372025-08-20T03:43:34ZengSpringer NatureMolecular Systems Biology1744-42922014-04-0110411210.1002/msb.20145228Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean oceanMarkus A Keller0Alexandra V Turchyn1Markus Ralser2Department of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of CambridgeDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of CambridgeDepartment of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of CambridgeAbstract The reaction sequences of central metabolism, glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway provide essential precursors for nucleic acids, amino acids and lipids. However, their evolutionary origins are not yet understood. Here, we provide evidence that their structure could have been fundamentally shaped by the general chemical environments in earth's earliest oceans. We reconstructed potential scenarios for oceans of the prebiotic Archean based on the composition of early sediments. We report that the resultant reaction milieu catalyses the interconversion of metabolites that in modern organisms constitute glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. The 29 observed reactions include the formation and/or interconversion of glucose, pyruvate, the nucleic acid precursor ribose‐5‐phosphate and the amino acid precursor erythrose‐4‐phosphate, antedating reactions sequences similar to that used by the metabolic pathways. Moreover, the Archean ocean mimetic increased the stability of the phosphorylated intermediates and accelerated the rate of intermediate reactions and pyruvate production. The catalytic capacity of the reconstructed ocean milieu was attributable to its metal content. The reactions were particularly sensitive to ferrous iron Fe(II), which is understood to have had high concentrations in the Archean oceans. These observations reveal that reaction sequences that constitute central carbon metabolism could have been constrained by the iron‐rich oceanic environment of the early Archean. The origin of metabolism could thus date back to the prebiotic world.https://doi.org/10.1002/msb.20145228Archean oceanevolution of metabolismglycolysisnon‐enzymatic catalystspentose phosphate pathway |
| spellingShingle | Markus A Keller Alexandra V Turchyn Markus Ralser Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean Molecular Systems Biology Archean ocean evolution of metabolism glycolysis non‐enzymatic catalysts pentose phosphate pathway |
| title | Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean |
| title_full | Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean |
| title_fullStr | Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean |
| title_short | Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean |
| title_sort | non enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway like reactions in a plausible archean ocean |
| topic | Archean ocean evolution of metabolism glycolysis non‐enzymatic catalysts pentose phosphate pathway |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/msb.20145228 |
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