Ancient chemistry explains why ATP is universal energy unit used by all living things - ANI News

All cells employ the energy intermediary ATP or adenosine triphosphate.When phosphate is added to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to create ATP, energy is acquired during cellular respiration; the cleavage of that phosphate releases energy to fuel most cellular processes.Acetyl phosphate (AcP), a two-carbon molecule that currently serves as a metabolic intermediary in both bacteria and archaea, was regarded by Lane and colleagues as the most likely option.They investigated the ability of various ions and minerals to catalyse ATP synthesis in water; none were even close to as effective as iron, based on evidence and speculations about the chemical state of the Earth before life originated.However, I also believed that a number of metal ion catalysts and phosphorylating agents, particularly those that are conserved in life, would be effectiveThe reaction's extreme selectivity in the metal ion, phosphate donor, and substrate with molecules that life still employs was a huge surpriseUpdated: Oct 05, 2022 17:15 ISTUpdated: Oct 04, 2022 23:55 IST