Life in the Universe pp 107-110 | Cite as
Origin and Evolution of Very Early Sequence Motifs in Enzymes
Abstract
Conserved amino acid sequence motifs inenzymes often indicate involvement in the binding of metal ion(s) and/or in the binding and/or reactions of substrate(s). The four very early proteinaceous amino acids are glycine (G), alanine (A), aspartic acid (D) and valine (V) as was demonstrated with the clarification of the stepwise evolution of the genetic code (Eigen and Schuster, 1979), and in agreement with the quantities obtained in the earlier, classical work (Miller, 1953 and on) showing proteinaceous amino acid production under possible prebiotic conditions. Aspartic acid stands out as the unique very early amino acid containing an additional, highly reactive free charge, suitable i.a. for cation binding. Active site motifs with a very high content of any or all of these four amino acids may well be of early evolutionary significance.
Keywords
Genetic Code Lyme Disease Rhodospirillum Rubrum Active Site Motif Putative Active SitePreview
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