A self-replicating peptide

被引:506
作者
Lee, DH
Granja, JR
Martinez, JA
Severin, K
Ghadiri, MR
机构
[1] Scripps Res Inst, DEPT CHEM, LA JOLLA, CA 92037 USA
[2] Scripps Res Inst, DEPT MOL BIOL, LA JOLLA, CA 92037 USA
[3] Scripps Res Inst, SKAGGS INST CHEM BIOL, LA JOLLA, CA 92037 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1038/382525a0
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
THE production of amino acids and their condensation to polypeptides under plausibly prebiotic conditions have long been known(1,2). But despite the central importance of molecular self-replication in the origin of life, the feasibility of peptide self-replication has not been established experimentally(3-6). Here we report an example of a self-replicating peptide. We show that a 32-residue alpha-helical peptide based on the leucine-zipper domain of the yeast transcription factor GCN4 can act autocatalytically in templating its own synthesis by accelerating the thioester-promoted amide-bond condensation of 15- and 17-residue fragments in neutral, dilute aqueous solutions. The self-replication process displays parabolic growth pattern with the initial rates of product formation correlating with the square-root of initial template concentration.
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页码:525 / 528
页数:4
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