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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Laboratory Simulation of an IronII-rich Precambrian Marine Upwelling System to Explore the Growth of Photosynthetic Bacteria
Published on: July 24, 2016
When iron and sulfur met on an anoxic planet and eventually made clusters essential for life
Pierre Simon Garcia1, Simonetta Gribaldo2, Frédéric Barras3
1Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR6047, Department of Microbiology, Unit Stress Adaptation and Metabolism in Enterobacteria, Paris, France; Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Department of Microbiology, Unit Evolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell, Paris, France.
Abstract:
[FeS] clusters are co-factors that are essential for life and are synthesized by dedicated multiprotein cellular machineries. In this review, we present the current scenario for the emergence and the diversification of the [FeS] cluster biosynthesis machineries. In addition to well-known NIF, ISC and SUF machineries, two alternative minimal systems, SMS, and MIS, were recently identified. Taxonomic distribution and phylogeny analyses indicate that SMS and MIS were present in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), well before the increase of oxygen on Earth. ISC, SUF and NIF systems emerged later in the history of life. The possible reasons for the emergence and diversification of these machineries are discussed.
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