Hydrothermal vents provide phosphite and palladium to power early life
Biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf published findings in The FEBS Journal identifying hydrothermal vent substances as an energy source for early metabolism.
New energy source identified
Researchers found that phosphite and palladium occur naturally in hydrogen-producing hydrothermal vents. These substances act as an inorganic precursor to adenosine triphosphate, the universal energy currency of cells. This discovery explains how primordial chemical reactions could have started before modern protein machines existed.
Role of ATP synthases
Current life forms use ATP synthases to convert ion gradients into rotary motion for forging ATP. The new study suggests these molecular machines were not the first way cells generated energy. Early Earth relied on geochemical precursors found in specific vent environments instead.
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