In 1988, Günter Wäschterhäuser proposed a new theory to explain the origin of life: the theory of surface metabolism (Wäschterhäuser 1988). This theory, also known as “the iron-sulphur world”, states that the chemical reactions directed by the reducing power of iron-sulphur (Fe-S)/H2S were responsible for the catalytic events that led to the first biopolymer structures. One possible remnant of this Fe-S world is the set of Fe-S clusters present in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins (Beinert 2000). Fe-S clusters participate in a wide range of molecular and biochemical reactions that bacteria rely on to control important aspects of their metabolism…
Hard and soft tools of the bacteria survival kit
- 31 July 2014