Prebiotic synthesis at impact craters: the role of Fe-clays and iron meteorites

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (71) ◽  
pp. 10563-10566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Pastorek ◽  
Jana Hrnčířová ◽  
Luboš Jankovič ◽  
Lukáš Nejdl ◽  
Svatopluk Civiš ◽  
...  

Iron-rich smectites formed by reprocessing of basalts due to the residual post-impact heat could catalyze the synthesis and accumulation of important prebiotic building blocks such as nucleobases, amino acids and urea.

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-297
Author(s):  
Zhihui Wu ◽  
Jinghui Heng ◽  
Min Tian ◽  
Hanqing Song ◽  
Fang Chen ◽  
...  

AbstractThe mammary gland, a unique exocrine organ, is responsible for milk synthesis in mammals. Neonatal growth and health are predominantly determined by quality and quantity of milk production. Amino acids are crucial maternal nutrients that are the building blocks for milk protein and are potential energy sources for neonates. Recent advances made regarding the mammary gland further demonstrate that some functional amino acids also regulate milk protein and fat synthesis through distinct intracellular and extracellular pathways. In the present study, we discuss recent advances in the role of amino acids (especially branched-chain amino acids, methionine, arginine and lysine) in the regulation of milk synthesis. The present review also addresses the crucial questions of how amino acids are transported, sensed and transduced in the mammary gland.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (23) ◽  
pp. 5634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surendra V. Singh ◽  
Jayaram Vishakantaiah ◽  
Jaya K. Meka ◽  
Vijayan Sivaprahasam ◽  
Vijayanand Chandrasekaran ◽  
...  

The building blocks of life, amino acids, are believed to have been synthesized in the extreme conditions that prevail in space, starting from simple molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, the fate and role of amino acids when they are subjected to similar processes largely remain unexplored. Here we report, for the first time, that shock processed amino acids tend to form complex agglomerate structures. Such structures are formed on timescales of about 2 ms due to impact induced shock heating and subsequent cooling. This discovery suggests that the building blocks of life could have self-assembled not just on Earth but on other planetary bodies as a result of impact events. Our study also provides further experimental evidence for the ‘threads’ observed in meteorites being due to assemblages of (bio)molecules arising from impact-induced shocks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (75) ◽  
pp. 10362-10365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Steer ◽  
Nicolas Bia ◽  
David K. Smith ◽  
Paul A. Clarke

Amino esters and amino nitriles can promote the selective formation of 2-deoxy-d-ribose from materials present in interstellar ices. The use of amino nitriles suggests the possibility that carbohydrates may have existed before amino acids on the prebiotic Earth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 24-24
Author(s):  
Yanbin Shen ◽  
Sung Woo Kim

Abstract The technological advancement in production of crystalline amino acids has driven the cost of crystalline amino acids down significantly and facilitated the wide use of crystalline amino acids in food animal production. The primary reason of use of crystalline amino acids in am animal’s diet is to provide dietary essential nutrients for protein synthesis and to balance the diet and reduce dietary cost. Extensive researches with amino acids have greatly enabled such use. As a result, most swine diets today are formulated with 3 or 4 supplemental amino acids. However, the economical return on including beyond 4 supplemental amino acids becomes low and thus discourages the use of more than 4 supplemental amino acids for dietary saving purpose. The use of the functional role of amino acids might bear the new opportunity for amino acids. Tryptophan has unique physiological functions involving synthesize serotonin in the body. Increasing tryptophan intake is shown to elevate serotonin synthesis in the brain of pigs and reduce stress and improve performance of pigs under social stress. Research shows that methionine is used as a precursor of glutathione to protect intestinal mucosa from oxidative damages during weaning stress. Arginine, glutamine, and glutamate are shown to have functions in cell proliferation, potentially improving intestinal and immune function of nursery pigs and preventing loss of lean body mass in the sow. Leucine is a ketogenic amino acid. The carbon skeleton of leucine is converted to acetylCoA, which could be used for fatty acid synthesis in muscle tissue. Research showed that intramuscular fat was increased by feeding high dietary leucine levels. Overall, the different functions of individual AA beyond their roles as the building blocks for proteins give additional opportunities of amino acid application in animal production.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Ruiz-Bermejo ◽  
Susana Osuna-Esteban ◽  
María-Paz Zorzano

1981 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Ashy ◽  
Abd El-Galil ◽  
M. Khalil ◽  
Abou-Zeid A. Abou-Zeid
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 923-929
Author(s):  
Gaurav Pandey ◽  
Prem Prakash Das ◽  
Vibin Ramakrishnan

Background: RADA-4 (Ac-RADARADARADARADA-NH2) is the most extensively studied and marketed self-assembling peptide, forming hydrogel, used to create defined threedimensional microenvironments for cell culture applications. Objectives: In this work, we use various biophysical techniques to investigate the length dependency of RADA aggregation and assembly. Methods: We synthesized a series of RADA-N peptides, N ranging from 1 to 4, resulting in four peptides having 4, 8, 12, and 16 amino acids in their sequence. Through a combination of various biophysical methods including thioflavin T fluorescence assay, static right angle light scattering assay, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), electron microscopy, CD, and IR spectroscopy, we have examined the role of chain-length on the self-assembly of RADA peptide. Results: Our observations show that the aggregation of ionic, charge-complementary RADA motifcontaining peptides is length-dependent, with N less than 3 are not forming spontaneous selfassemblies. Conclusion: The six biophysical experiments discussed in this paper validate the significance of chain-length on the epitaxial growth of RADA peptide self-assembly.


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