Harder J
Max-Planck-Institut for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, FRG.
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 1993 Nov;12(4):273-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.1993.tb00023.x.
The evolution of a deoxyribonucleotide synthesizing ribonucleotide reductase might have initiated the transition from the ancient RNA world into the prevailing DNA world. At least five classes of ribonucleotide reductases have evolved. The ancient enzyme has not been identified. A reconstruction of the first ribonucleotide reductase requires knowledge of contemporary enzymes and of microbial evolution. Experimental work on the former focuses on few organisms, whereas the latter is now well understood on the basis of ribosomal RNA sequences. Deoxyribonucleotide formation has not been investigated in many evolutionary important microorganisms. This review covers our knowledge on deoxyribonucleotide synthesis in microorganisms and the distribution of ribonucleotide reductases in nature. Ecological constraints on enzyme evolution and knowledge deficiencies emerge from complete coverage of the phylogenetic groups.
一种合成脱氧核糖核苷酸的核糖核苷酸还原酶的进化可能引发了从古老的RNA世界到如今占主导地位的DNA世界的转变。核糖核苷酸还原酶至少进化出了五类。古老的酶尚未被鉴定出来。重建首个核糖核苷酸还原酶需要了解当代的酶以及微生物进化情况。关于前者的实验工作集中在少数几种生物上，而基于核糖体RNA序列，现在对后者已经有了很好的理解。在许多具有重要进化意义的微生物中，脱氧核糖核苷酸的形成尚未得到研究。这篇综述涵盖了我们对微生物中脱氧核糖核苷酸合成的了解以及核糖核苷酸还原酶在自然界中的分布情况。对系统发育类群的全面覆盖揭示了酶进化的生态限制和知识缺陷。
