Open AccessSynthesis and breakdown of universal metabolic precursors promoted by iron
Author(s) -
Kamila B. Muchowska,
Sreejith Jayasree Varma,
Joseph Moran
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 15.993
H-Index - 1226
eISSN - 1476-4687
pISSN - 0028-0836
DOI - 10.1038/s41586-019-1151-1
Subject(s) - chemistry , glyoxylate cycle , citric acid cycle , abiogenesis , metabolic pathway , amino acid , ferrous , biochemistry , metabolism , protocell , biology , organic chemistry , astrobiology , membrane
Life builds its molecules from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and breaks them back down again through the intermediacy of just five metabolites, which are the universal hubs of biochemistry 1 . However, it is unclear how core biological metabolism began and why it uses the intermediates, reactions and pathways that it does. Here we describe a purely chemical reaction network promoted by ferrous iron, in which aqueous pyruvate and glyoxylate-two products of abiotic CO 2 reduction 2-4 -build up 9 of the 11 intermediates of the biological Krebs (or tricarboxylic acid) cycle, including all 5 universal metabolic precursors. The intermediates simultaneously break down to CO 2 in a life-like regime that resembles biological anabolism and catabolism 5 . Adding hydroxylamine 6-8 and metallic iron into the system produces four biological amino acids in a manner that parallels biosynthesis. The observed network overlaps substantially with the Krebs and glyoxylate cycles 9,10 , and may represent a prebiotic precursor to these core metabolic pathways.