Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent
11 affiliations
- 1Institute of Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- 2Biomathematics Research Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- 3Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- 4Biocenter MS-Platform, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- 5University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, Strasbourg, France
- 6Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- 7Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
- 8Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- 9Catalysis and Energy Materials Group, IMDEA Materials Institute, Madrid, Spain
- 10Department of Heterogeneous Catalysis, Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
- 11Microcosm Earth Center, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Abstract
The origin of life required the emergence of metabolism, an autocatalytic network of enzymatic reactions that synthesize amino acids, nucleotides, and cofactors. At the origin of metabolism, there were no enzymes-how did it start? Empirical studies addressing early metabolic evolution are lacking. Harnessing protein structures for metabolic enzymes, we identify intermediate states in primordial metabolic assembly. We show that enzymatic metabolism in the universal common ancestor was incomplete, undergoing final assembly independently in the lineages leading to bacteria and archaea. Native transition metals-iron, cobalt, nickel, and palladium-served as the catalytic forerunners of both enzymes and cofactors at metabolic origin, while phosphite supplied energy, as it phosphorylates adenosine 5'-monophosphate to adenosine 5'-diphosphate and serine to phosphoserine using native metal catalysts in water. Phosphite and native metals occur in serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, identifying an energy-supplying, catalytic site of metabolic origin. Cofactors liberated nascent metabolism from native metal catalysts, engendering its autocatalytic state.
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BibTeX
@article{mrnjavac2026intermediate,
title = {{Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent}},
author = {Natalia Mrnjavac and Nadja K. Hoffmann and Manon Laura Schlikker and Maximilian Burmeister and Loraine Schwander and Carolina García García and Max Brabender and Mike Steel and Daniel H. Huson and Sabine U Metzger and Quentin Dherbassy and Bernhard Schink and Mirko Basen and Joseph Moran and Harun Tüysüz and Martina Preiner and William F. Martin},
journal = {Science Advances},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aef3128},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef3128},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent
AU - Natalia Mrnjavac
AU - Nadja K. Hoffmann
AU - Manon Laura Schlikker
AU - Maximilian Burmeister
AU - Loraine Schwander
AU - Carolina García García
AU - Max Brabender
AU - Mike Steel
AU - Daniel H. Huson
AU - Sabine U Metzger
AU - Quentin Dherbassy
AU - Bernhard Schink
AU - Mirko Basen
AU - Joseph Moran
AU - Harun Tüysüz
AU - Martina Preiner
AU - William F. Martin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
JO - Science Advances
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aef3128
UR - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef3128
AB - The origin of life required the emergence of metabolism, an autocatalytic network of enzymatic reactions that synthesize amino acids, nucleotides, and cofactors. At the origin of metabolism, there were no enzymes-how did it start? Empirical studies addressing early metabolic evolution are lacking. Harnessing protein structures for metabolic enzymes, we identify intermediate states in primordial metabolic assembly. We show that enzymatic metabolism in the universal common ancestor was incomplete, undergoing final assembly independently in the lineages leading to bacteria and archaea. Native transition metals-iron, cobalt, nickel, and palladium-served as the catalytic forerunners of both enzymes and cofactors at metabolic origin, while phosphite supplied energy, as it phosphorylates adenosine 5'-monophosphate to adenosine 5'-diphosphate and serine to phosphoserine using native metal catalysts in water. Phosphite and native metals occur in serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, identifying an energy-supplying, catalytic site of metabolic origin. Cofactors liberated nascent metabolism from native metal catalysts, engendering its autocatalytic state.
SN - 2375-2548
ER -