Laboratorio de Fisiología de Proteínas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires CP1428, Argentina.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Buenos Aires CP1428, Argentina.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 May 21;121(21):e2318905121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2318905121. Epub 2024 May 13.
We propose that spontaneous folding and molecular evolution of biopolymers are two universal aspects that must concur for life to happen. These aspects are fundamentally related to the chemical composition of biopolymers and crucially depend on the solvent in which they are embedded. We show that molecular information theory and energy landscape theory allow us to explore the limits that solvents impose on biopolymer existence. We consider 54 solvents, including water, alcohols, hydrocarbons, halogenated solvents, aromatic solvents, and low molecular weight substances made up of elements abundant in the universe, which may potentially take part in alternative biochemistries. We find that along with water, there are many solvents for which the liquid regime is compatible with biopolymer folding and evolution. We present a ranking of the solvents in terms of biopolymer compatibility. Many of these solvents have been found in molecular clouds or may be expected to occur in extrasolar planets.
我们提出，生物聚合物的自发折叠和分子进化是生命发生必须同时存在的两个普遍方面。这些方面与生物聚合物的化学组成有着根本的关系，并取决于它们所处的溶剂。我们表明，分子信息理论和能量景观理论使我们能够探索溶剂对生物聚合物存在的限制。我们考虑了 54 种溶剂，包括水、醇、烃、卤代溶剂、芳香族溶剂以及由宇宙中丰富元素组成的低分子量物质，这些物质可能潜在地参与替代生物化学。我们发现，除了水之外，还有许多溶剂可以使生物聚合物折叠和进化处于液相。我们根据生物聚合物的相容性对溶剂进行了排名。这些溶剂中有许多已在分子云中发现，或者可能在系外行星中存在。
