UV-light-driven prebiotic synthesis of iron-sulfur clusters.
Nat Chem
; 9(12): 1229-1234, 2017 12.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29168482
ABSTRACT
Iron-sulfur clusters are ancient cofactors that play a fundamental role in metabolism and may have impacted the prebiotic chemistry that led to life. However, it is unclear whether iron-sulfur clusters could have been synthesized on prebiotic Earth. Dissolved iron on early Earth was predominantly in the reduced ferrous state, but ferrous ions alone cannot form polynuclear iron-sulfur clusters. Similarly, free sulfide may not have been readily available. Here we show that UV light drives the synthesis of [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters through the photooxidation of ferrous ions and the photolysis of organic thiols. Iron-sulfur clusters coordinate to and are stabilized by a wide range of cysteine-containing peptides and the assembly of iron-sulfur cluster-peptide complexes can take place within model protocells in a process that parallels extant pathways. Our experiments suggest that iron-sulfur clusters may have formed easily on early Earth, facilitating the emergence of an iron-sulfur-cluster-dependent metabolism.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Raios Ultravioleta
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Evolução Química
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Origem da Vida
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Proteínas Ferro-Enxofre
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article