Cysteine and iron accelerate the formation of ribose-5-phosphate, providing insights into the evolutionary origins of the metabolic network structure.

ABSTRACT: The structure of the metabolic network is highly conserved, but we know little about its evolutionary origins. Key for explaining the early evolution of metabolism is solving a chicken-egg dilemma, which describes that enzymes are made from the very same molecules they produce. The recent discovery of several nonenzymatic reaction sequences that topologically resemble central metabolism has provided experimental support for a "metabolism first" theory, in which at least part of the extant metabolic network emerged on the basis of nonenzymatic reactions. But how could evolution kick-start on the basis of a metal catalyzed reaction sequence, and how could the structure of nonenzymatic reaction sequences be imprinted on the metabolic network to remain conserved for billions of years? We perfo

SUBMITTER: Piedrafita G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8673631 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature