The ineluctable requirement for the trans-iron elements molybdenum and/or tungsten in the origin of life

Barbara Schoepp-Cothenet (1, 2) , Robert van Lis (1, 2) , Pascal Philippot (3) , Axel Magalon (4, 2) , Michael J. Russell (5) , Wolfgang Nitschke (1, 2)

1 BIP - Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines
2 AMU - Aix Marseille Université
3 IPG Paris - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
4 LCB - Laboratoire de chimie bactérienne
5 CALTECH - California Institute of Technology

An evolutionary tree of key enzymes from the Complex-Iron-Sulfur-Molybdoenzyme (CISM) superfamily distinguishes “ancient” members, i.e. enzymes present already in the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of prokaryotes, from more recently evolved subfamilies. The majority of the presented subfamilies and, as a consequence, the Molybdo-enzyme superfamily as a whole, appear to have existed in LUCA. The results are discussed with respect to the nature of bioenergetic substrates available to early life and to problems arising from the low solubility of molybdenum under conditions of the primordial Earth.

Mots clés: Enzymes; Inorganic chemistry; Molecular evolution; Palaeontology

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Barbara Schoepp-Cothenet, Robert van Lis, Pascal Philippot, Axel Magalon, Michael J. Russell, et al.. The ineluctable requirement for the trans-iron elements molybdenum and/or tungsten in the origin of life. Scientific Reports, 2012, 2 (263), ⟨10.1038/srep00263⟩. ⟨hal-01608654⟩