A prebiotic Krebs cycle analog generates amino acids with H2 and NH3 over nickel
Open accessAbstract
Hydrogen (H 2 ) has powered microbial metabolism for roughly 4 billion years. The recent discovery that it also fuels geochemical analogs of the most ancient biological carbon fixation pathway sheds light on the origin of metabolism. However, it remains unclear whether H 2 can sustain more complex nonenzymatic reaction networks. Here, we show that H 2 drives the nonenzymatic reductive amination of six biological ketoacids and glyoxylate to give the corresponding amino acids in good yields using ammonium concentrations ranging from 6 to 150 mM. Catalytic amounts of nickel or ground meteorites enable these reactions at 22°C and pH 8. The same conditions promote an H 2 -dependent ketoacid-forming reductive aldol chemistry that co-occurs with reductive amination, producing a continuous reaction network resembling amino acid synthesis in the metabolic core of ancient microbes. The results support the hypothesis that the earliest biochemical networks could have emerged without enzymes or RNA.
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Ni0 readily forms amino acids from 2-oxoacids, NH3 and H2.
“Furthermore, Ni0 readily forms amino acids from 2‐oxoacids, NH3 and H2 [77]”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [77]
The same metal catalysts that allow the acetyl-CoA pathway to unfold without ATP, enzymes, or cofactors convert 2-oxoacids to amino acids at room temperature, reduce NAD+, and reduce ferredoxin with H2.
“the same metal catalysts that allow it to unfold without ATP, enzymes, or cofactors convert 2‐oxoacids to amino acids at room temperature [77], reduce NAD+ [127] and reduce ferredoxin with H2 [79].”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [77]
The present findings trace corrinoids to the earliest phases of biochemical evolution, to a time when some essential biochemical functions were performed by proteins, some by cofactors alone and some by solid-state metals.
“The present findings trace corrinoids to the earliest phases of biochemical evolution, to a time when some essential biochemical functions were performed by proteins, some were performed by cofactors alone and some were still performed by solid‐state metals [62, 64, 77, 90].”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [77]
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References 71 · Cited by 39
- Authors
- Kaur, H., Rauscher, S. A., Werner, E., Song, Y., Yi, J., Kazöne, W., Martin, W. F., Tüysüz, H., & Moran, J.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Moran, Joseph
- Venue
- Chem
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024-05
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1528-1540
- ISSN
- 2451-9294 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7616004
- OpenAlex
- W4392203301
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13
- FWCI
- 7.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Chem (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- European Research Council
- Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Volkswagen Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Keywords
- origin of metabolism, prebiotic chemistry, hydrogen energy, reductive amination, reductive aldol reaction, amino acid synthesis, nickel catalysis, keto acids, glyoxylic acid, origin of life
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