Life is electric. The electronic circuitry is catalyzed by a small subset of proteins that function as sophisticated nanomachines. Currently, very little is known about the origin of proteins on earth…

This federal contract award to Rutgers, The State University's Research Financial Services Division is for the ENIGMA research program, which will conduct experimental, bioinformatic, and data-driven studies to explore the origin and evolution of proteins involved in electron transfer and energy generation in early microbial life.

The $5,481,667 cooperative agreement, awarded by NASA's Shared Services Center, is part of the NASA Astrobiology Institute's research efforts to understand the origin of life on Earth. The ENIGMA program has three integrated research themes focused on prebiotic synthesis of metalloproteins, the emergent complexity of metalloproteins in microbial ancestors, and the co-evolution of proteins and the geosphere. This work complements other NAI research teams investigating microbial genomics and life on the early Earth. The contract does not have a set-aside designation.

Life is electric. The electronic circuitry is catalyzed by a small subset of proteins that function as sophisticated nanomachines. Currently, very little is known about the origin of proteins on earth and their evolution in early microbial life. To fill this knowledge GAP, the enigma research program will carry out experimental, bioinformatic, data-driven abductive studies to explore the origin of catalysis, the evolution of protein structures in microbial ancestors, and the CO-evolution of proteins and the geosphere through geologic time. Enigma has three integrated research themes focused on understanding the evolution of proteins involved in electron transfer and energy generation. Theme 1 will investigate the synthesis and function of metalloproteins in prebiotic systems. Extant microbial proteins will be analyzed to identify the simplest structures that can perform electron transfer reactions. Using DE novo computational protein design, small peptides will be synthesized and characterized to elucidate the earliest biochemical reactions in the origin of life. Theme 2 will examine the emergent complexity of metalloproteins in microbial ancestors. New computational methods linking protein structure and phylogeny will be developed to study the evolution of metal binding ligands in proteins. A structural alignment-based homology approach will be used to identify the oldest structures in proteins and to trace the early evolution of metal binding folds. Theme 3 will explore the CO-evolution of proteins and the geosphere. Deep-time data on the nature and distribution of redox-sensitive elements in rocks and minerals will be integrated with protein structural data in the protein data bank. Mineralogical data (e.g. mineral composition, solubility, and age) will be incorporated into geochemical models to constrain the bioavailability of metals over geologic time and metal bioavailability during archean and proterozoic eras will used to date specific positions in the evolutionary tree constructed in theme 2. The three enigma research themes are directly relevant to the major topics synthesis and function of macromolecules in the origin of life , early life and increasing complexity and CO-evolution of life and the physical environment identified in the 2015 astrobiology science strategy. Furthermore, the enigma program complements the NAI can 7 teams on experimental microbial genomics (georgia tech) and life on a dynamic early earth (UC riverside). The results of the enigma research program will help the NAI answer a central question in astrobiology: how did proteins evolve to become the catalysts of life on earth?