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Title: Scaling laws in enzyme function reveal a new kind of biochemical universality
Significance Known examples of life all share the same core biochemistry going back to the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), but whether this feature is universal to other examples, including at the origin of life or alien life, is unknown. We show how a physics-inspired statistical approach identifies universal scaling laws across biochemical reactions that are not defined by common chemical components but instead, as macroscale patterns in the reaction functions used by life. The identified scaling relations can be used to predict statistical features of LUCA, and network analyses reveal some of the functional principles that underlie them. They are, therefore, prime candidates for developing new theory on the “laws of life” that might apply to all possible biochemistries.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1840301
PAR ID:
10482597
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
US National Academy of Sciences
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
119
Issue:
9
ISSN:
0027-8424
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
scaling laws biochemical networks astrobiology statistical physics enzymes
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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