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Metabolic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster Larval and Adult Brains
Published on: August 7, 2018
The origin and evolution of modern metabolism
Gustavo Caetano-Anollés1, Liudmila S Yafremava, Hannah Gee
1Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, United States. gca@uiuc.edu
The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
|September 16, 2008
Summary
Modern metabolism evolved through enzyme recruitment, originating in nucleotide pathways and expanding explosively with new enzyme structures. This layered evolution suggests a palimpsest of ancient biochemical processes.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Cellular metabolism is an ancient biological network crucial for understanding network evolution.
- Enzymes are recruited from existing networks to form new metabolic pathways.
- Structural and functional genomics offer insights into metabolic evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of genomics on understanding modern metabolism's evolution.
- To describe methods merging evolutionary genomics, structural genomics, and bioinformatics.
- To identify patterns of enzyme recruitment in metabolic evolution.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing structural and functional genomics data.
- Analyzing enzyme structure and function for recruitment patterns.
- Integrating evolutionary and structural genomics with bioinformatics.
Main Results:
- Modern metabolism likely originated from nucleotide metabolism enzymes with the P-loop hydrolase fold.
- Early recruitment led to pathways for nucleotides and cofactors in an RNA world.
- The discovery of TIM beta/alpha-barrel folds triggered explosive recruitment for carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism.
Conclusions:
- Metabolic evolution is characterized by layered enzyme recruitment, resembling prebiotic shells.
- Modern metabolism is a palimpsest, reflecting ancient metabolic chemistries.
- Genomics and bioinformatics are key to deciphering metabolic evolutionary history.
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