Novel molecular fossils of bacteria: insights into hydrothermal origin of life.
Hydrothermal vents, in particular, alkaline submarine vents, are potential systems for the origin of life. Early hydrothermal vents may have imprinted on biochemical processes and housekeeping proteins of life and have hallmarked key molecules. This essay introduces new information to this discussion by focusing on newly identified sulfur-modified DNA and a heretofore ignored anhydro bond of the cell wall peptidoglycan in bacteria. It is suggested that they are novel molecular fossils that are relevant to the settings of alkaline submarine vents and harbor clues of early life. As DNA and the cell wall are bound up with genetic information and the integrity of cell, respectively, these two molecular fossils may provide insights into hydrothermal origin of life from a new angle.
School of Biology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, 68 South Xuefu Road, Evergreen Garden, Wuhan 430023, China. daijh333@yahoo.com.cn
Jianghong
J
Dai
D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D005580:Fossils; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D060086:Hydrothermal Vents / Q000382:microbiology*; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000235:genetics; D000069497:Origin of Life; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002241:Carbohydrates; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D013455:Sulfur