【ELSI】Metabolic networks provide clues about the earliest stages of enzyme evolution

New model uses metabolic reactions to predict the structures and functions of the earliest enzymes

Enzymes emerged before the last universal common ancestor, making comparative genetic analyses insufficient to understand the earliest stages of enzyme evolution. Researchers at ELSI have combined protein fold structure data and metabolic reaction networks to create a predictive model called enzyme-gated network expansion. The model predicts that the earliest enzymes were predominantly α/β folds, suggesting that the origin of enzyme-mediated metabolic reactions may have been sparked by a single enzyme structure type.

Metabolic Reactions Reveal Early Enzyme Evolution

Reference
Tatsuya Corlett, Harrison B. Smith, Eric Smith, Joshua E. Goldford and Liam M. Longo. The history of enzyme evolution embedded in metabolism PNAS DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2609531123

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