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The Evidence for Evolution02:55

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Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat
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Small molecules as products of evolution.

Gabriel V Markov1, Vincent Laudet2

  • 1Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 8227 Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M, UMR8227), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), 29680 Roscoff, France.

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Researchers can now reconstruct ancient biochemical pathways and test ancient molecules. This opens new avenues for understanding the coevolution of proteins and small molecules throughout life's history.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biochemistry
  • Molecular evolution
  • Metabolomics

Background:

  • Ancient protein evolution can be studied using molecular phylogeny.
  • Small molecules have historically been excluded from such 'resurrection' studies.
  • This exclusion assumes small molecules remain unchanged throughout evolutionary history.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the potential of reconstructing ancient biochemical pathways.
  • To infer and synthesize ancient small molecules for functional testing.
  • To investigate the coevolution of proteins and small molecules.

Main Methods:

  • Leveraging recent advances in evolutionary analysis of biochemical pathways.
  • Utilizing metabolomics data to infer ancient molecular structures.
  • Synthesizing inferred ancient molecules for experimental validation.
  • Testing interactions between synthesized ancient molecules and ancestral proteins.

Main Results:

  • It is now possible to reconstruct ancient biochemical pathways.
  • Ancient small molecules can be inferred, synthesized, and tested.
  • Key principles for studying small molecule evolution identified: catalytic promiscuity, metabolic reconfiguration, coevolution, and bidirectional interactions.

Conclusions:

  • New methods enable the study of ancient small molecules and their biosynthetic pathways.
  • An interdisciplinary approach combining organic chemistry and evolutionary science is crucial.
  • This research opens new frontiers in understanding the chemical diversity of life and its evolutionary history.