Transition metals enhance prebiotic depsipeptide oligomerization reactions involving histidine.

ABSTRACT: Biochemistry exhibits an intense dependence on metals. Here we show that during dry-down reactions, zinc and a few other transition metals increase the yield of long histidine-containing depsipeptides, which contain both ester and amide linkages. Our results suggest that interactions of proto-peptides with metal ions influenced early chemical evolution.

SUBMITTER: Frenkel-Pinter M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8694183 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature