Birth of Life’s Building Blocks: New Study Synthesizes Key Compound in Lab

March 04, 2024

The study, led by researchers at UCL, has successfully synthesized pantetheine, a crucial compound for all forms of life, under lab conditions resembling those of early Earth. Published in Science, the research challenges previous assumptions about pantetheine's absence at life's origin by demonstrating its creation using molecules formed from aminonitriles. This breakthrough suggests that pantetheine could have played a vital role in chemical reactions leading to the emergence of life around 4 billion years ago. 
The study highlights the importance of nitrile chemistry, rather than traditional acid-based approaches, in producing key biological molecules. "The ease with which different classes of biological molecules can be made using nitriles has convinced me that, rather than life being preceded by one molecule such as RNA, and there being an ‘RNA world’ before life began, the basic molecules of biology emerged alongside each other – a network of RNAs, proteins, enzymes and cofactors leading to the first living organisms." said Professor Powner, senior author of the paper.
The researchers envision a network of molecules, including RNAs, proteins, enzymes, and cofactors, emerging simultaneously, paving the way for the first living organisms. This study provides new insights into the origins of life and suggests that life may have originated in pools or lakes of water on early Earth.

From: SciTechDaily