title: Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
abstract: Prior to the evolution of DNA-based organisms on earth over 3.5 billion years ago it is hypothesized that RNA was the primary genetic molecule. Before RNA-based organisms arose, peptide nucleic acids may have been used to transmit genetic information by the earliest forms of life on earth. We discovered that cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine (AEG), a backbone for peptide nucleic acids. We detected AEG in axenic strains of cyanobacteria with an average concentration of 1 µg/g. We also detected AEG in environmental samples of cyanobacteria as both a free or weakly bound molecule and a tightly bound form released by acid hydrolysis, at concentrations ranging from not detected to 34 µg/g. The production of AEG by diverse taxa of cyanobacteria suggests that AEG may be a primitive feature which arose early in the evolution of life on earth.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Ethnomedicine, Jackson, WY, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra Anne
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Banack
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Craighead
authors.forename: Leopold L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Ilag
authors.forename: Paul Alan
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cox
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D018534:Earth, Planet; D005998:Glycine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006868:Hydrolysis; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; C028791:N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D005998:Glycine