Prebiotically Plausible Autocatalytic Peptide Amyloids

Abstract

The prebiotic emergence of molecules capable of both self-replication and of storing information was a defining event at the dawn of life. Still, a plausibly prebiotic self-replication of biologically relevant molecules has not been demonstrated. Building upon the known templating nature of amyloids we present two systems in which the products of a peptide bond-forming reaction act as self-replicators to enhance the yield and stereoselectivity of their formation. This first report of an amino acid condensation reaction that can undergo autocatalysis further supports the potential role of amyloids in prebiotic molecular evolution as an environment-responsive and information-coding system capable of self-replication.