Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Universality in intermediary metabolism.

Eric Smith1, Harold J Morowitz

  • 1Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA. desmith@santafe.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 2, 2004
PubMed
Summary

The reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle is a universal metabolic core that likely emerged on early Earth. Its autocatalytic nature and energetic advantages explain its evolutionary robustness and role in synthesizing biomolecules.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

CIT tumor lines: A series of immunogenic murine cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cell lines derived from chemical carcinogenesis.

JID innovations : skin science from molecules to population health·2026
Same author

Life-course trajectories and modifiable risk factors for incident walking limitation and mortality in 25 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study.

The lancet. Healthy longevity·2026
Same author

Calcitonin Receptor is a Novel Biomarker for NF-κB-Mediated Cellular Stress in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition)·2026
Same author

External validation of the DSP-risk score for prediction of clinically significant ventricular arrhythmias in primary prevention patients with desmoplakin cardiomyopathy-associated genetic variants.

Heart rhythm·2026
Same author

Transcription Factor Subtype Governs Response and Resistance to DLL3-Directed T-Cell Engagement in Small Cell Lung Cancer.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

RBM20 Truncating Variants and Human Cardiomyopathy.

JAMA cardiology·2026

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Astrobiology
  • Metabolic Networks

Background:

  • The reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle is a fundamental metabolic pathway.
  • Its role in early life and prebiotic chemistry remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Analyze the stoichiometry, energetics, and concentration dependence of the rTCA cycle.
  • Propose the rTCA cycle as a universal and primordial metabolic core.
  • Investigate its emergence and evolutionary significance under early Earth conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Stoichiometric analysis of rTCA cycle reactions.
  • Energetic calculations for key metabolic steps.
  • Modeling reaction concentration dependence.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • The rTCA cycle functions as a network-autocatalytic process in reducing environments.
  • It provides essential precursor organic compounds for biomolecule synthesis.
  • Reaction concentration dependence suggests a precellular bulk process.

Conclusions:

  • The rTCA cycle is statistically favored among competing redox pathways under early Earth conditions.
  • This statistical advantage drove its emergence, robustness, and universality.
  • Enhanced reaction rates provide an energetic basis for increased biological complexity.