Metalloproteins and the Pyrite-based Origin of Life: A Critical Assessment

Origins of life - Tập 41 - Trang 347-356 - 2011
Mario Rivas1, Arturo Becerra1, Juli Peretó2, Jeffrey L. Bada3, Antonio Lazcano1
1Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F., Mexico
2Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, València, Spain
3Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, USA

Tóm tắt

We critically examine the proposal by Wächtershäuser (Prokaryotes 1:275–283, 2006a, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 361: 787–1808, 2006b) that putative transition metal binding sites in protein components of the translation machinery of hyperthermophiles provide evidence of a direct relationship with the FeS clusters of pyrite and thus indicate an autotrophic origin of life in volcanic environments. Analysis of completely sequenced cellular genomes of Bacteria, Archaea and Eucarya does not support the suggestion by Wächtershäuser (Prokaryotes 1:275–283, 2006a, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 361: 787–1808, 2006b) that aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and ribosomal proteins bear sequence signatures typical of strong covalent metal bonding whose absence in mesophilic species reveals a process of adaptation towards less extreme environments.

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