Chemical Evolution of Early Macromolecules: From Prebiotic Oligopeptides to Self-Organizing Biosystems via Amyloid Formation.

ABSTRACT: Short amyloidogenic oligopeptides (APRs) are proposed as early macromolecules capable of forming solvent-separated nanosystems under prebiotic conditions. This study provides experimental evidence that APRs, such as the aggregation-prone oligopeptide A (APR-A), can undergo mutational transitions to form distinct variants and convert to APR-B, either amyloid-like or water-soluble and non-aggregating. These transitions occur along a spectrum from strongly amyloidogenic (pro-amyloid) to weakly amyloidogenic (anti-amyloid), with the mutation sequence order playing a key role in determining their physicochemical properties. The pro-amyloid pathway facilitates heterogeneous phase separation, leading to amyloid-crystal formation with multiple polymorphs, including the first class 3 amyloid topolo

SUBMITTER: Bencs F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12099175 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature