Volatile Organic Compound Metabolism on Early Earth.

IF 2.1 3区生物学 Q4 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Journal of Molecular Evolution Pub Date : 2024-10-01 Epub Date: 2024-07-17 DOI:10.1007/s00239-024-10184-x

S Marshall Ledford, Laura K Meredith

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) constitute a significant portion of gas-phase metabolites in modern ecosystems and have unique roles in moderating atmospheric oxidative capacity, solar radiation balance, and aerosol formation. It has been theorized that VOCs may account for observed geological and evolutionary phenomena during the Archaean, but the direct contribution of biology to early non-methane VOC cycling remains unexplored. Here, we provide an assessment of all potential VOCs metabolized by the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). We identify enzyme functions linked to LUCA orthologous protein groups across eight literature sources and estimate the volatility of all associated substrates to identify ancient volatile metabolites. We hone in on volatile metabolites with confirmed modern emissions that exist in conserved metabolic pathways and produce a curated list of the most likely LUCA VOCs. We introduce volatile organic metabolites associated with early life and discuss their potential influence on early carbon cycling and atmospheric chemistry.

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早期地球上的挥发性有机化合物代谢。

生物挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）在现代生态系统的气相代谢物中占很大比例，在调节大气氧化能力、太阳辐射平衡和气溶胶形成方面具有独特的作用。有理论认为，挥发性有机化合物可能是在太古宙期间观察到的地质和进化现象的原因，但生物学对早期非甲烷挥发性有机化合物循环的直接贡献仍有待探索。在此，我们对最后一个普遍共同祖先（LUCA）代谢的所有潜在挥发性有机化合物进行了评估。我们从八个文献来源中找出了与 LUCA 同源蛋白质组相关的酶功能，并估算了所有相关底物的挥发性，从而找出了古老的挥发性代谢物。我们锁定了存在于保守代谢途径中、已证实有现代排放的挥发性代谢物，并制作了一份最有可能是 LUCA 挥发性有机化合物的编辑列表。我们介绍了与早期生命相关的挥发性有机代谢物，并讨论了它们对早期碳循环和大气化学的潜在影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Molecular Evolution 生物-进化生物学

CiteScore

5.50

自引率

2.60%

发文量

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Journal of Molecular Evolution covers experimental, computational, and theoretical work aimed at deciphering features of molecular evolution and the processes bearing on these features, from the initial formation of macromolecular systems through their evolution at the molecular level, the co-evolution of their functions in cellular and organismal systems, and their influence on organismal adaptation, speciation, and ecology. Topics addressed include the evolution of informational macromolecules and their relation to more complex levels of biological organization, including populations and taxa, as well as the molecular basis for the evolution of ecological interactions of species and the use of molecular data to infer fundamental processes in evolutionary ecology. This coverage accommodates such subfields as new genome sequences, comparative structural and functional genomics, population genetics, the molecular evolution of development, the evolution of gene regulation and gene interaction networks, and in vitro evolution of DNA and RNA, molecular evolutionary ecology, and the development of methods and theory that enable molecular evolutionary inference, including but not limited to, phylogenetic methods.