cyanobacteria produce n-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on earth蓝藻产生n -甘氨酸(2-aminoethyl),肽核酸的骨干这可能是第一个遗传分子对地球上的生命.pdfVIP

Cyanobacteria Produce N-(2-Aminoethyl)Glycine, a Backbone for Peptide Nucleic Acids Which May Have Been the First Genetic Molecules for Life on Earth 1 1 2 3 2 Sandra Anne Banack , James S. Metcalf , Liying Jiang , Derek Craighead , Leopold L. Ilag , Paul Alan Cox1* 1 Institute for Ethnomedicine, Jackson, Wyoming, United States of America, 2 Department of Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, 3 Craighead Beringia South, Kelly, Wyoming, United States of America Abstract Prior to the evolution of DNA-based organisms on earth over 3.5 billion years ago it is hypothesized that RNA was the primary genetic molecule. Before RNA-based organisms arose, peptide nucleic acids may have been used to transmit genetic information by the earliest forms of life on earth. We discovered that cyanobacteria produce N-(2- aminoethyl)glycine (AEG), a backbone for peptide nucleic acids. We detected AEG in axenic strains of cyanobacteria with an average concentration of 1 mg/g. We also detected AEG in environmental samples of cyanobacteria as both a free or weakly bound molecule and a tightly bound form released by acid hydrolysis, at concentrations ranging from not detected to 34 mg/g. The production of AEG by diverse taxa of cyanobacteria suggests that AEG may be a primitive feature which arose early in the evolution of life on earth. Citation: Banack SA, Metcalf JS, Jiang L, Craighead D, Ilag LL, et al. (2012) Cyanobacteria Produce N-(2-Aminoethyl)Glycine, a Backbone for Peptide Nucleic Acids Which May Have Been the First Genetic Molecules for Life on Earth. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49043. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049043 Editor: Ahmed Moustafa, American University in Cairo, Egypt Received