Organic cofactors participated more frequently than transition metals in redox reactions of primitive proteins.
Protein redox reactions are one of the most basic and important biochemical actions. As amino acids are weak redox mediators, most protein redox functions are undertaken by protein cofactors, which include organic ligands and transition metal ions. Since both kinds of redox cofactors were available in the pre-protein RNA world, it is challenging to explore which one was more involved in redox processes of primitive proteins? In this paper, using an examination of the redox cofactor usage of putative ancient proteins, we infer that organic ligands participated more frequently than transition metals in redox reactions of primitive proteins, at least as protein cofactors. This is further supported by the relative abundance of amino acids in the primordial world. Supplementary material for this article can be found on the BioEssays website.
Ji
Hong-Fang
HF
Shandong Provincial Research Center for Bioinformatic Engineering and Technique, Center for Advanced Study, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049, PR China.
Chen
Lei
L
Zhang
Hong-Yu
HY
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D030562:Databases, Protein; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007477:Ions; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D020027:Pyrococcus furiosus / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D028561:Transition Elements
D000596:Amino Acids; D007477:Ions; D008024:Ligands; D028561:Transition Elements; D012313:RNA; D010100:Oxygen