Amplification of diverse catalytic properties of evolving molecules in a simulated hydrothermal environment.
We observed chemical evolution in a mixture of four amino acids, glycine, L-alanine, L-valine and L-aspartic acid, circulated through a flow reactor simulating the thermodynamic conditions of a hydrothermal environment. These monomers form peptides with tertiary structures and potential catalytic functions. The HPLC profile of synthesized oligomers varied with each particular run, but the products were found to separate into distinct clusters when more than one hundred runs were compared statistically. This observation suggests that chemical evolution on the early Earth had stochastic aspects that must be understood in order to develop useful models of prebiotic evolution.
Department of BioEngineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka, Japan.
Shinnosuke
S
Yokoyama
Akihiro
A
Koyama
Atsushi
A
Nemoto
Hajime
H
Honda
Ei-ichi
E
Imai
Kuniyuki
K
Hatori
Koichiro
K
Matsuno
D000409:Alanine / Q000378:metabolism; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004777:Environment; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D005998:Glycine / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014633:Valine / Q000378:metabolism
D010455:Peptides; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D014633:Valine; D000409:Alanine; D005998:Glycine