Histidyl-histidine catalysis of glycine condensation in fluctuating clay environmentsHistidyl-histidine is a remarkably effective catalyst of peptide bond formation in the reaction of glycine in a fluctuating (hot-dry, cold-wet) clay environment. It has shown turnover numbers (molecules of glycine incorporated in oligoglycines per molecule of catalyst) as high as 18 in a single cycle and as high as 52 overall. A number of other dipeptides were tested, as well as monomeric histidine, N-acetyl histidine, and imidazole, none of which showed turnover numbers greater than one. Histidyl-histidine is a model for a prebiotic protoenzyme, and implications for the development of a simple translation mechanism are discussed.
Document ID
19820037417
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
White, D. H. (Santa Clara Univ. CA, United States)
Erickson, J. C. (Santa Clara, University Santa Clara, CA, United States)