生命の起源:最初の細胞膜はどのようにして存在するようになったのか?(On the Origin of Life: How the First Cell Membranes Came to Exist)

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2024-11-13 カリフォルニア大学サンディエゴ校(UCSD)

カリフォルニア大学サンディエゴ校の研究チームは、初期の地球で最初の細胞膜がどのように形成されたかについての新たな仮説を提案しました。彼らは、システインというアミノ酸と短鎖のコリンチオエステルが、シリカガラスの表面で自発的に反応し、プロトセルのような膜小胞を形成することを発見しました。この反応は、触媒の存在下で低濃度でも進行し、初期の地球環境での細胞膜形成の可能性を示唆しています。

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システインと短鎖チオエステルとの自然反応による原始細胞 Protocells by spontaneous reaction of cysteine with short-chain thioesters

Christy J. Cho,Taeyang An,Yei-Chen Lai,Alberto Vázquez-Salazar,Alessandro Fracassi,Roberto J. Brea,Irene A. Chen & Neal K. Devaraj
Nature Chemistry  Published:30 October 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01666-y

生命の起源:最初の細胞膜はどのようにして存在するようになったのか?(On the Origin of Life: How the First Cell Membranes Came to Exist)

Abstract

All known forms of life are composed of cells, whose boundaries are defined by lipid membranes that separate and protect cell contents from the environment. It is unknown how the earliest forms of life were compartmentalized. Several models have suggested a role for single-chain lipids such as fatty acids, but the membranes formed are often unstable, particularly when made from shorter alkyl chains (≤C8) that were probably more prevalent on prebiotic Earth. Here we show that the amino acid cysteine can spontaneously react with two short-chain (C8) thioesters to form diacyl lipids, generating protocell-like membrane vesicles. The three-component reaction takes place rapidly in water using low concentrations of reactants. Silica can catalyse the formation of protocells through a simple electrostatic mechanism. Several simple aminothiols react to form diacyl lipids, including short peptides. The protocells formed are compatible with functional ribozymes, suggesting that coupling of multiple short-chain precursors may have provided membrane building blocks during the early evolution of cells.

生物工学一般
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