A Hot, Acidic Primordial Soup

A new study has revealed that a group of ancient enzymes adapted to substantial changes in ocean temperature and acidity during the last four billion years. The results provide evidence that life on early Earth evolved from an environment that was much hotter and more acidic than today’s. The research was partially funded by the NASA Astrobiology Exo/Evo program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). The paper, “Single-molecule paleoenzymology probes the chemistry of resurrected enzymes” was published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Source: [Georgia Institute of Technology]

April 6, 2011 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Hydrogenase Active Sites and the Origin of Life

Members of NAI’s Team at Montana State University have provided a Perspectives piece in Dalton Transactions reviewing the organo-metallic chemistry of the active sites of hydrogenase enzymes. Since hydrogen metabolism is presumed to be an early feature in the energetics of life, and hydrogen metabolizing organisms can be traced very early in molecular phylogeny, studying the metal clusters at hydrogenase active sites can reveal potential conditions in which early life arose. Efforts in this field also could have significant impacts on alternative and renewable energy solutions.

April 6, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

New Enzymes in the Laboratory

A new paper in Nature this week from NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center Team describes a new technique they’ve developed through which completely new enzymes can be evolved in the laboratory. The process does not require prior understanding of how the enzymes will work, but uses product formation as the sole selection criterion.

Source: [Link]

August 17, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe

Potential Origin of Primordial Protein Enzymes

Life on earth is facilitated by a multitude of enzymes that catalyze essential chemical reactions. The vast majority of today’s enzymes are proteins, yet looking at the complex and intricate structures of natural enzymes it is hard to imagine how the first enzymes emerged.

However, new experiments by Seelig and Szostak, show that small, simple enzymes can evolve rather easily. In the August 16, 2007 issue of Nature, they describe the generation of an artificial enzyme by simulating evolution in a test tube. The researchers at first produced a random library of 4 trillion...

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