Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth
The multiplicity of simple molecules available on the primitive Earth probably made possible the development of extremely diverse prebiotic chemistry. The importance of thiols is widely recognized in the community studying the origin of life. De Duve’s “thioester world” has been considered a major c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/256 |
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| author | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Veronique Blandin Yannick Vallée |
| author_facet | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Veronique Blandin Yannick Vallée |
| author_sort | Ibrahim Shalayel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The multiplicity of simple molecules available on the primitive Earth probably made possible the development of extremely diverse prebiotic chemistry. The importance of thiols is widely recognized in the community studying the origin of life. De Duve’s “thioester world” has been considered a major contribution in this regard, where thioester bonds have high energies and thus can contribute to several chemical reactions. Herein, we propose specific models of thiols that exhibit unique activities toward several chemical reactions. Thanks to aminothiol and aminonitrile behaviors, we were able to obtain thiol-rich peptides with interesting catalytic activities leading to the formation of structurally diverse molecules. In a broader context, such chemistry could be introduced into systems chemistry scenarios in which it would be associated with the chemistry of nucleic acids or their precursors, as well as that of fatty acids. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:56:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de31dc1e5eb541adbc131a571971d5f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:56:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-de31dc1e5eb541adbc131a571971d5f62023-11-16T20:05:17ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-02-0115225610.3390/d15020256Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early EarthIbrahim Shalayel0Naoual Leqraa1Veronique Blandin2Yannick Vallée3CNRS, UMR 5525, TIMC-IMAG, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceCNRS, Département de Chimie Moléculaire, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceCNRS, Département de Chimie Moléculaire, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceCNRS, Département de Chimie Moléculaire, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceThe multiplicity of simple molecules available on the primitive Earth probably made possible the development of extremely diverse prebiotic chemistry. The importance of thiols is widely recognized in the community studying the origin of life. De Duve’s “thioester world” has been considered a major contribution in this regard, where thioester bonds have high energies and thus can contribute to several chemical reactions. Herein, we propose specific models of thiols that exhibit unique activities toward several chemical reactions. Thanks to aminothiol and aminonitrile behaviors, we were able to obtain thiol-rich peptides with interesting catalytic activities leading to the formation of structurally diverse molecules. In a broader context, such chemistry could be introduced into systems chemistry scenarios in which it would be associated with the chemistry of nucleic acids or their precursors, as well as that of fatty acids.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/256evolution of enzymesorigin of lifeprebiotic catalysiscysteinethioesters |
| spellingShingle | Ibrahim Shalayel Naoual Leqraa Veronique Blandin Yannick Vallée Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth Diversity evolution of enzymes origin of life prebiotic catalysis cysteine thioesters |
| title | Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth |
| title_full | Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth |
| title_fullStr | Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth |
| title_short | Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth |
| title_sort | catalysis before enzymes thiol rich peptides as molecular diversity providers on the early earth |
| topic | evolution of enzymes origin of life prebiotic catalysis cysteine thioesters |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/256 |
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