Emergence of Photomodulated Protometabolism by Short Peptide-Based Assemblies

In the early Earth, rudimentary enzymes must have utilized the available light energy source to modulate protometabolic processes. Herein, we report the light-responsive C-C bond manipulation via short peptide-based assemblies bound to the photosensitive molecular cofactor (azo-based photoswitch) where the energy of the light source regulated the binding sites which subsequently modulated the retro-aldolase activity. In the presence of a continual source of high-energy photons, temporal realization of a catalytically more proficient state could be achieved under nonequilibrium conditions. Further, the hydrophobic surface of peptide assemblies facilitated the binding of an orthogonal molecular catalyst that showed augmented activity (promiscuous hydrolytic activity) upon binding. This latent activity was utilized for the in situ generation of light-sensitive cofactor that subsequently modulated the retro-aldolase activity, thus creating a reaction network.