title: Life's utilization of B vitamins on early Earth.
abstract: Coenzymes are essential across all domains of life. B vitamins (B1-thiamin, B2-riboflavin, B3-niacin, B5-pantothenate, B6-pyridoxine, B7-biotin, and B12-cobalamin) represent the largest class of coenzymes, which participate in a diverse set of reactions including C1-rearrangements, DNA repair, electron transfer, and fatty acid synthesis. B vitamin structures range from simple to complex heterocycles, yet, despite this complexity, multiple lines of evidence exist for their ancient origins including abiotic synthesis under putative early Earth conditions and/or meteorite transport. Thus, some of these critical coenzymes likely preceded life on Earth. Some modern organisms can synthesize their own B vitamins de novo while others must either scavenge them from the environment or establish a symbiotic relationship with a B vitamin producer. B vitamin requirements are widespread in some of the most ancient metabolisms including all six carbon fixation pathways, sulfate reduction, sulfur disproportionation, methanogenesis, acetogenesis, and photosynthesis. Understanding modern metabolic B vitamin requirements is critical for understanding the evolutionary conditions of ancient metabolisms as well as the biogeochemical cycling of critical elements such as S, C, and O.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Monteverde
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gómez-Consarnau
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suffridge
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.|Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sañudo-Wilhelmy
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003067:Coenzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D000069497:Origin of Life; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003067:Coenzymes; D014803:Vitamin B Complex