Discovered new data on the origin of life on Earth

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New study sheds light on the origin of life on Earth

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A group of researchers have identified the structures of proteins that could give rise to all life on the planet.

Scientists from Rutgers University have discovered the structures of proteins that could give rise to life on the planet. About the study, published in the journal Science Advances, informed press service of the educational institution.

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To figure out how primitive life on Earth could have arisen from simple non-living materials, scientists have studied the proteins that bind metals.

They compared all existing protein structures that bind metals and established their common features using a new computational method.

As it turns out, the vast majority of currently existing metal-binding proteins are somewhat similar, regardless of the type of metal with which they interact, organism and functionality.

“We saw that the cores of existing metal-binding proteins are indeed similar, although the proteins themselves can be different. We also saw that these metal-binding cores are often made up of repeating substructures, like LEGO blocks. Curiously, these blocks were found and in other areas of proteins, not just in the metal-binding cores, and in many other proteins that were not considered in our study,” said lead author of the study, Jana Bromberg, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers University.

These building blocks may have had one or more common ancestors, she said, and gave rise to the entire spectrum of proteins and their functions that are currently available, “that is, life as we know it.”

“We have very little information about how life arose on this planet, and our work provides a previously inaccessible explanation,” said Bromberg.

The biologist added that the new information could contribute to the search for life on other planets and planetary bodies.

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