Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 993-1010 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Natural product reports |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 18 Nov 2020 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2021 |
Abstract
Covering: up to 2020 What was first? Coenzymes or proteins? These questions are archetypal examples of causal circularity in living systems. Classically, this "chicken-and-egg"problem was discussed for the macromolecules RNA, DNA and proteins. This report focuses on coenzymes and cofactors and discusses the coenzyme/protein pair as another example of causal circularity in life. Reflections on the origin of life and hypotheses on possible prebiotic worlds led to the current notion that RNA was the first macromolecule, long before functional proteins and hence DNA. So these causal circularities of living systems were solved by a time travel into the past. To tackle the "chicken-and-egg"problem of the protein-coenzyme pair, this report addresses this problem by looking for clues (a) in the first hypothetical biotic life forms such as protoviroids and the last unified common ancestor (LUCA) and (b) in considerations and evidence of the possible prebiotic production of amino acids and coenzymes before life arose. According to these considerations, coenzymes and cofactors can be regarded as very old molecular players in the origin and evolution of life, and at least some of them developed independently of α-amino acids, which here are evolutionarily synonymous with proteins. Discussions on "chicken-and-egg"problems open further doors to the understanding of evolution. This journal is
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics(all)
- Drug Discovery
- Chemistry(all)
- Organic Chemistry
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In: Natural product reports, Vol. 38, No. 5, 05.2021, p. 993-1010.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The coenzyme/protein pair and the molecular evolution of life
AU - Kirschning, Andreas
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Covering: up to 2020 What was first? Coenzymes or proteins? These questions are archetypal examples of causal circularity in living systems. Classically, this "chicken-and-egg"problem was discussed for the macromolecules RNA, DNA and proteins. This report focuses on coenzymes and cofactors and discusses the coenzyme/protein pair as another example of causal circularity in life. Reflections on the origin of life and hypotheses on possible prebiotic worlds led to the current notion that RNA was the first macromolecule, long before functional proteins and hence DNA. So these causal circularities of living systems were solved by a time travel into the past. To tackle the "chicken-and-egg"problem of the protein-coenzyme pair, this report addresses this problem by looking for clues (a) in the first hypothetical biotic life forms such as protoviroids and the last unified common ancestor (LUCA) and (b) in considerations and evidence of the possible prebiotic production of amino acids and coenzymes before life arose. According to these considerations, coenzymes and cofactors can be regarded as very old molecular players in the origin and evolution of life, and at least some of them developed independently of α-amino acids, which here are evolutionarily synonymous with proteins. Discussions on "chicken-and-egg"problems open further doors to the understanding of evolution. This journal is
AB - Covering: up to 2020 What was first? Coenzymes or proteins? These questions are archetypal examples of causal circularity in living systems. Classically, this "chicken-and-egg"problem was discussed for the macromolecules RNA, DNA and proteins. This report focuses on coenzymes and cofactors and discusses the coenzyme/protein pair as another example of causal circularity in life. Reflections on the origin of life and hypotheses on possible prebiotic worlds led to the current notion that RNA was the first macromolecule, long before functional proteins and hence DNA. So these causal circularities of living systems were solved by a time travel into the past. To tackle the "chicken-and-egg"problem of the protein-coenzyme pair, this report addresses this problem by looking for clues (a) in the first hypothetical biotic life forms such as protoviroids and the last unified common ancestor (LUCA) and (b) in considerations and evidence of the possible prebiotic production of amino acids and coenzymes before life arose. According to these considerations, coenzymes and cofactors can be regarded as very old molecular players in the origin and evolution of life, and at least some of them developed independently of α-amino acids, which here are evolutionarily synonymous with proteins. Discussions on "chicken-and-egg"problems open further doors to the understanding of evolution. This journal is
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106926245&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/d0np00037j
DO - 10.1039/d0np00037j
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33206101
AN - SCOPUS:85106926245
VL - 38
SP - 993
EP - 1010
JO - Natural product reports
JF - Natural product reports
SN - 0265-0568
IS - 5
ER -