Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.

Prior to the evolution of DNA-based organisms on earth over 3.5 billion years ago it is hypothesized that RNA was the primary genetic molecule. Before RNA-based organisms arose, peptide nucleic acids may have been used to transmit genetic information by the earliest forms of life on earth. We discov...

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Main Authors:	Sandra Anne Banack, James S Metcalf, Liying Jiang, Derek Craighead, Leopold L Ilag, Paul Alan Cox
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:	PLoS ONE
Online Access:	http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3492184?pdf=render

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spelling	doaj-8bfd372a7c054fe28779a4fa5d9082b32020-11-25T01:10:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-01711e4904310.1371/journal.pone.0049043Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.Sandra Anne BanackJames S MetcalfLiying JiangDerek CraigheadLeopold L IlagPaul Alan CoxPrior to the evolution of DNA-based organisms on earth over 3.5 billion years ago it is hypothesized that RNA was the primary genetic molecule. Before RNA-based organisms arose, peptide nucleic acids may have been used to transmit genetic information by the earliest forms of life on earth. We discovered that cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine (AEG), a backbone for peptide nucleic acids. We detected AEG in axenic strains of cyanobacteria with an average concentration of 1 µg/g. We also detected AEG in environmental samples of cyanobacteria as both a free or weakly bound molecule and a tightly bound form released by acid hydrolysis, at concentrations ranging from not detected to 34 µg/g. The production of AEG by diverse taxa of cyanobacteria suggests that AEG may be a primitive feature which arose early in the evolution of life on earth.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3492184?pdf=render
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Sandra Anne Banack James S Metcalf Liying Jiang Derek Craighead Leopold L Ilag Paul Alan Cox
spellingShingle	Sandra Anne Banack James S Metcalf Liying Jiang Derek Craighead Leopold L Ilag Paul Alan Cox Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth. PLoS ONE
author_facet	Sandra Anne Banack James S Metcalf Liying Jiang Derek Craighead Leopold L Ilag Paul Alan Cox
author_sort	Sandra Anne Banack
title	Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
title_short	Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
title_full	Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
title_fullStr	Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
title_full_unstemmed	Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.
title_sort	cyanobacteria produce n-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on earth.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series	PLoS ONE
issn	1932-6203
publishDate	2012-01-01
description	Prior to the evolution of DNA-based organisms on earth over 3.5 billion years ago it is hypothesized that RNA was the primary genetic molecule. Before RNA-based organisms arose, peptide nucleic acids may have been used to transmit genetic information by the earliest forms of life on earth. We discovered that cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine (AEG), a backbone for peptide nucleic acids. We detected AEG in axenic strains of cyanobacteria with an average concentration of 1 µg/g. We also detected AEG in environmental samples of cyanobacteria as both a free or weakly bound molecule and a tightly bound form released by acid hydrolysis, at concentrations ranging from not detected to 34 µg/g. The production of AEG by diverse taxa of cyanobacteria suggests that AEG may be a primitive feature which arose early in the evolution of life on earth.
url	http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3492184?pdf=render
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Cyanobacteria produce N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine, a backbone for peptide nucleic acids which may have been the first genetic molecules for life on Earth.

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