Systems chemistry of α-amino acids and peptides

¹ Spectrométries et Dynamique Moléculaire, Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires, UMR7345, CNRS – Aix-Marseille Université, Centre Saint-Jérôme - case 252, 13397 Marseille, Cedex 20, France
² Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron, UMR 5247 CNRS – Université Montpellier 1 & Montpellier 2, CC17006, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France

Abstract

Pathways have been disclosed in the past decade, which support the possibility that α-amino acids could have contributed to self-organization processes leading to the emergence of life. It is proposed that the systems chemistry of these simple building blocks may have led to features of self-organization through the realization of protometabolisms based on unidirectional loops involving both peptide formation and breakdown and additional feedback processes. Potential peptide activating agents have been identified. Scenarios of peptide elongation are proposed to account for peptide elongation both at the N-terminus and the C-terminus and new indications that these processes could be involved in symmetry breaking have been provided.