sciencebriefs:

Scientists believe that prior to the advent of DNA as Earth’s primary genetic material, early forms of life used RNA to encode genetic instructions. What sort of genetic molecules did life rely on before RNA? The answer may be AEG (N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine), a small molecule that when linked into chains forms a hypothetical backbone for peptide nucleic acids, which have been hypothesized as the first genetic molecules. Synthetic AEG has been studied by the pharmaceutical industry as a possible gene silencer to stop or slow certain genetic diseases.

The only problem with the theory is that up to now, AEG has been unknown in nature. However, a team of scientists have just discovered AEG within cyanobacteria, which are believed to be some of the most primitive organisms on Earth. “Our discovery of AEG in cyanobacteria was unexpected,” explains Paul Alan Cox, co-author of the research paper.

To determine how widespread AEG production is among cyanobacteria, the scientists analyzed pristine cyanobacterial cultures from the Pasteur Culture Collection of Paris, France. They also collected samples of cyanobacteria from Guam, Japan, Qatar, as well as in the Gobi desert of Mongolia. All were found to produce AEG. Independently, Leopold Ilag and Liying Jiang in Sweden analyzed the same samples and came up with identical results: cyanobacteria produce AEG.

While the analysis is certain, its significance for studies of the earliest forms of life on Earth remains unclear. Does the production of AEG by cyanobacteria represent an echo of the earliest life on Earth? “We just don’t have enough data yet to draw that sort of conclusion,” reports Cox.

(Source: intheflameoferror-blog)