Metabolism Archives

Graphical Abstract -- Istanbul Technical University

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Titania, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Thermodynamic Perspective On Potential Life In Icy Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingJuly 9, 2025July 9, 2025

Dr. Seda Işık, who completed her doctorate at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences in the Earth System Science Program, achieved significant results in interpreting chemical evidence […]

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report

Astrochemistry: Abiotic Origin Of Citric Acid Cycle Intermediates

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2025September 18, 2025

The molecular framework for protometabolism-chemical reactions in a prebiotic environment preceding modern metabolism-has remained unknown in evolutionary biology.

A 3D image obtained by X-ray microtomography of a macroscopic multicellular organism dated to 2.1 billion years ago (Francevillian Basin, Gabon). Scale bar = 1 cm. Credit Arnaud Mazurier and Abderrazak El Albani.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Ancient Life Locked Arsenic Away To Survive Environmental Changes

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2025July 2, 2025

Earth’s earliest life forms developed ways to survive the harmful effects of arsenic to cope with dramatic changes in their environment, a new study suggests.

Routes to α-keto acids from amino acids. a) The conversion of an α-amino acid to an α-keto acid via transamination requires an additional α-keto acid; however, b) the β-elimination of a side-chain activated amino acid produces an α-keto acid (pyruvate) directly. -- Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

From Amino Acids to α-Keto Acids via β-Elimination and Transamination Initiates a Pathway to Prebiotic Reaction Networks

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2025June 10, 2025

α-Keto acids, such as pyruvate and glyoxylate, may have been critical in generating reaction networks at the origins of life due to their facile carbon-carbon bond formation and their hydrolytic […]

A molecular-size dependent transition in the likelihood of achiral (A) and chiral (C) molecules within chemical space. (A) As heavy atoms are added to molecular graphs in an expanding chemical space, the total number of molecular configurations grows at least exponentially, and an abrupt transition marks where chiral centers become statistically more likely to be present -- q-bio.MN

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

The Emergence of Chirality From Metabolism

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2025May 12, 2025

Molecular chirality is critical to biochemical function, but it is unknown when chiral selectivity first became important in the evolutionary transition from geochemistry to biochemistry during the emergence of life.

Nitrosopumilus maritimus, partially with virions of Nitrosopumilus spindle-shaped virus 1 (Thaspiviridae) attached. -- Wikipedia

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Novel Hot Spring Thermoproteota Support Vertical Inheritance of Ammonia Oxidation and Carbon Fixation in Nitrososphaeria

by Keith CowingMay 8, 2025May 8, 2025

Aerobic ammonia oxidation is crucial to the nitrogen cycle and is only known to be performed by a small number of bacterial lineages [ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)] and a single lineage […]

Polyester microdroplets (Credit: Tony Z. Jia)

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

The Versatility Of Lactic Acid In The Origin Of Membraneless Protocells At The Origins Of Life

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2025May 1, 2025

Lactic acid is not only a major byproduct of primitive synthetic processes such as spark discharge or UV irradiation, it also is a significant player in modern biology.

Photo of Nebula NGC 1333. The James Webb telescope detected interstellar ice there, which could be the origin of stars and planets. The study shows that this ice was apparently also behind the formation of organic molecules, including all intermediaries in the Krebs cycle. Credit © ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana Larger image

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report

Abiotic Origin Of Citric Acid Cycle Intermediates

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2025

The molecular framework for protometabolism—chemical reactions in a prebiotic environment preceding modern metabolism—has remained unknown in evolutionary biology. Mono-, di-, and tricarboxylic acids that comprise contemporary metabolism, such as the […]

White waters of Kueishantao: sulfur-rich hydrothermal fluids turn the sea milky. Photo: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; S. Bühring

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Microorganisms Employ A Secret Weapon During Metabolism At Hydrothermal Vents

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2025

In the global carbon cycle microorganisms have evolved a variety of methods for fixing carbon.

Phylogenetic distribution of Mo-related genes and their associations with host ecological attributes. Mo-related gene counts and host ecological attributes mapped to a species tree of life25 (left). Tips on the phylogenetic tree are colored by taxonomy (see Supplementary Figure 1 for color legend. Simplified taxonomic clade labels are on the right. Ranked frequencies of Mo-related genes across all genomes in our dataset (n = 1,609) (right). -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Biological Molybdenum Usage Stems Back To 3.4 Billion Years Ago

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2025April 13, 2025

Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential nutrient for most living organisms, serving as a cofactor in a diverse array of molybdoenzymes that catalyze key reactions in several elemental cycles.