A new study led by researchers at UCL has successfully synthesized a chemical compound in the laboratory under conditions that could have existed on early Earth, indicating its potential involvement in the emergence of life.
A new study led by researchers at UCL has synthesized a chemical compound critical to all forms of life under lab conditions that mimic those of early Earth, indicating its importance in the emergence of life.
The compound, pantetheine, is the active fragment of Coenzyme A. It is important for metabolism – the chemical processes that maintain life. Earlier studies failed to synthesize pantetheine effectively, leading to suggestions that it was absent at life’s origin.
In the new study, published in the journal Science, the research team created the compound in water at room temperature using molecules formed from hydrogen cyanide, which was likely abundant on early Earth.
Once formed, the researchers said, it is simple to envisage how pantetheine might have aided chemical reactions that led from simple forerunners of protein and DOI: 10.1126/science.adk4432
The new study was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Simons Foundation, and the Volkswagen Foundation.