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Predicting the conformations of peptides and proteins in early evolution

E James Milner-White1 email and Michael J Russell2 email

Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

author email corresponding author email

Biology Direct 2008, 3:3doi:10.1186/1745-6150-3-3

Published: 28 January 2008

Abstract

Considering that short, mainly heterochiral, polypeptides with a high glycine content are expected to have played a prominent role in evolution at the earliest stage of life before nucleic acids were available, we review recent knowledge about polypeptide three-dimensional structure to predict the types of conformations they would have adopted. The possible existence of such structures at this time leads to a consideration of their functional significance, and the consequences for the course of evolution.

This article was reviewed by Bill Martin, Eugene Koonin and Nick Grishin.


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