Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Post

Life on Earth is defined by a curious and universal stereochemical asymmetry: the sugars in DNA and RNA possess a right-handed orientation, or stereochemistry. In contrast, 19 of 20 universal amino acids found in proteins possess left-handed stereochemistry. Why? A new study in PLOS Biology by Stefano Pagliara and his colleagues sheds light on this fundamental question by exploring how the earliest cell membranes may have influenced life’s core molecular preferences — offering fresh insight into one of biology’s greatest mysteries: how life began and why its building blocks are so consistent.   🔬 The team investigated whether the left- or right-handed forms of nucleic acid sugars and amino acids could pass through membranes, offering new insights into ancient life. ✅ Certain sugar forms crossed membranes more easily. ✅ A specific set of amino acids, including alanine, also selectively passed through, especially with hybrid membranes combining traits of both archaeal and bacterial lipids. ➡️ These findings suggest that the molecular orientation life relies on today may have been shaped by the permeability of early cells or cell-like compartments, before or coincident with development of enzymes and genetic systems. Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gxbYTGKE or summary: https://lnkd.in/gF9y_MeK   University of Exeter Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Living Systems Institute (LSI), University of Exeter #sciencephilanthropy #SyntheticBiology #archaea #Evolution #stereochemistry