Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides
At the origin of life, extremely diverse mixtures of oligomers and polymers could be obtained from relatively simple molecular bricks. Here, we present an example of the polymerization of two amidonitriles derived from cysteine, Cys-Ala-CN and Cys-Met-CN. The thiol function in a molecule adds onto t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Life |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/4/983 |
| _version_ | 1797604650964221952 |
|---|---|
| author | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Véronique Blandin Yannick Vallée |
| author_facet | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Véronique Blandin Yannick Vallée |
| author_sort | Ibrahim Shalayel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | At the origin of life, extremely diverse mixtures of oligomers and polymers could be obtained from relatively simple molecular bricks. Here, we present an example of the polymerization of two amidonitriles derived from cysteine, Cys-Ala-CN and Cys-Met-CN. The thiol function in a molecule adds onto the nitrile group of another one, allowing efficient condensation reactions and making available an extensive range of polymers containing amide bonds and/or five-membered heterocycles, namely thiazolines. Macrocycles were also identified, the biggest one containing sixteen residues (cyclo(Cys-Met)<sub>8</sub>). MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was used to identify all the present species. What these examples show is that complex mixtures are likely to have formed on the primitive Earth and that, ultimately, the selection that must have followed may have been an even more crucial step towards life than the synthesis of the pre-biological species themselves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:49:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23803d914396420f94b4536745d340f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:49:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-23803d914396420f94b4536745d340f02023-11-17T20:06:27ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292023-04-0113498310.3390/life13040983Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich PeptidesIbrahim Shalayel0Naoual Leqraa1Véronique Blandin2Yannick Vallée3Université Grenoble Alpes, TIMC-IMAG, CNRS, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceUniversité Grenoble Alpes, DCM, CNRS, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceUniversité Grenoble Alpes, DCM, CNRS, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceUniversité Grenoble Alpes, DCM, CNRS, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceAt the origin of life, extremely diverse mixtures of oligomers and polymers could be obtained from relatively simple molecular bricks. Here, we present an example of the polymerization of two amidonitriles derived from cysteine, Cys-Ala-CN and Cys-Met-CN. The thiol function in a molecule adds onto the nitrile group of another one, allowing efficient condensation reactions and making available an extensive range of polymers containing amide bonds and/or five-membered heterocycles, namely thiazolines. Macrocycles were also identified, the biggest one containing sixteen residues (cyclo(Cys-Met)<sub>8</sub>). MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was used to identify all the present species. What these examples show is that complex mixtures are likely to have formed on the primitive Earth and that, ultimately, the selection that must have followed may have been an even more crucial step towards life than the synthesis of the pre-biological species themselves.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/4/983prebiotic chemistryabiogenesiscysteinenitrilespeptidesmacrocycles |
| spellingShingle | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Véronique Blandin Yannick Vallée Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides Life prebiotic chemistry abiogenesis cysteine nitriles peptides macrocycles |
| title | Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides |
| title_full | Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides |
| title_fullStr | Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides |
| title_full_unstemmed | Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides |
| title_short | Straightforward Creation of Possibly Prebiotic Complex Mixtures of Thiol-Rich Peptides |
| title_sort | straightforward creation of possibly prebiotic complex mixtures of thiol rich peptides |
| topic | prebiotic chemistry abiogenesis cysteine nitriles peptides macrocycles |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/4/983 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ibrahimshalayel straightforwardcreationofpossiblyprebioticcomplexmixturesofthiolrichpeptides AT naoualleqraa straightforwardcreationofpossiblyprebioticcomplexmixturesofthiolrichpeptides AT veroniqueblandin straightforwardcreationofpossiblyprebioticcomplexmixturesofthiolrichpeptides AT yannickvallee straightforwardcreationofpossiblyprebioticcomplexmixturesofthiolrichpeptides |