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Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
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Protopeptide backbone affects assembly in aqueous solutions.

Sarah Fisher1, Yishi Ezerzer1, Rotem Edri1

  • 1Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 30, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Primordial peptide assembly may explain the selection of alpha amino acids. Depsipeptides with alpha backbones form more stable assemblies, suggesting a role in early life

Keywords:
chemical evolutiondepsipeptidesliquid-liquid phase separationorigins of lifeprebiotic chemistry

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Area of Science:

  • Origins of Life Research
  • Chemical Evolution
  • Biopolymer Science

Background:

  • The selection of 20 universal L-alpha amino acids remains a key mystery in the origins of life.
  • Compartment formation is crucial for early life, protecting molecules and enabling encapsulation.
  • Polymers with self-assembly capabilities may have conferred a prebiotic evolutionary advantage.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if primordial peptide assembly drove the selection of alpha amino acids.
  • To determine if depsipeptides, prebiotic peptide models, form assemblies in aqueous environments.
  • To compare the assembly stability of alpha- and beta-backbone depsipeptides.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis of depsipeptides using alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids and various amino acids.
  • Analysis of assembly formation using microscopy and physical stability analyzer.
  • Chemical analysis of reaction products.

Main Results:

  • Depsipeptide systems with hydrophobic hydroxy acids demonstrated assembly formation.
  • Depsipeptide assemblies with alpha hydroxy acid backbones showed significantly greater stability than beta analogs.
  • Hydrophobic interactions and backbone structure influence depsipeptide assembly.

Conclusions:

  • Assembly formation provides a potential driving force for the selection of alpha amino acids.
  • The enhanced stability of alpha-backbone depsipeptide assemblies supports their role in early biological selection.
  • This study offers an assembly-driven model for the evolution of alpha amino acids in biology.