The human body relies on electrical charges to transmit information through nerves and cells, with biological processes being initiated through electrical ions traveling across cell membranes. Researchers previously thought the membrane was the essential component that created these imbalances. However, researchers at Stanford University discovered that similar imbalanced electrical charges can exist between microdroplets of water and air. Now, researchers at Duke University have discovered that these types of electric fields also exist within and around biological condensates, which are cellular structures that exist without a physical boundary of a membrane.
Introduction
The human body relies heavily on electrical charges. Lightning-like pulses of energy fly through the brain and nerves, and most biological processes depend on electrical ions traveling across the membranes of each cell in our body.
Electrical Charge in Cells
These electrical signals are possible, in part, because of an imbalance in electrical charges that exists on either side of a cellular membrane.
Membrane’s Role in Creating Imbalance
Until recently, researchers believed the membrane was an essential component to creating this imbalance.
Surprising Discoveries
Researchers at Stanford University discovered that similar imbalanced electrical charges can exist between microdroplets of water and air.
Now, researchers at Duke University have discovered that these types of electric fields also exist within and around another type of cellular structure called biological condensates.
Biological Condensates
Biological condensates are like oil droplets floating in the water, existing because of differences in density. They form compartments inside the cell without needing the physical boundary of a membrane.
Cellular Boundary
Cells can build biological condensates to either separate or trap together certain proteins and molecules, either hindering or promoting their activity.
Synthetic Versions of Naturally Occurring Biological Condensates
Because the Chilkoti laboratory specializes in creating synthetic versions of naturally occurring biological condensates, the researchers were easily able to create a test bed for their theory.
Mechanism
After combining the right formula of building blocks to create minuscule condensates, with help from postdoctoral scholar Marco Messina in Christopher J. Chang’s group at the University of California—Berkeley, they added a dye to the system that glows in the presence of reactive oxygen species.
Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide Molecules
When electric charges jump between one material and another, they can produce molecular fragments that can pair up and form hydroxyl radicals, which have the chemical formula OH. These can then pair again to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in tiny but detectable amounts.
Asymmetric System
“But interfaces have seldom been studied in biological regimes other than the cellular membrane, which is one of the most essential parts of biology,” said Dai. “So we were wondering what might be happening at the interface of biological condensates, that is if it is an asymmetric system too.”
Research Discoveries
Their foundational discovery, appearing on April 28 in the journal Chem, could change the way researchers think about biological chemistry. It could also provide a clue as to how the first life on Earth harnessed the energy needed to arise.
Prebiotic Environment Without Enzymes
“In a prebiotic environment without enzymes to catalyze reactions, where would the energy come from?” asked Yifan Dai, a Duke postdoctoral researcher working in the laboratory of Ashutosh Chilkoti, the Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Lingchong You, the James L. Meriam Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
“This discovery provides a plausible explanation of where the reaction energy could have come from, just as the potential energy that is imparted on a point charge placed in an electric field,”
Conclusion
The discovery of electric fields within and around biological condensates is a groundbreaking finding that could change the way researchers think about biological chemistry. This phenomenon could provide a clue as to how the first life on Earth harnessed the energy needed to arise. The study conducted by Duke University researchers demonstrated that these electric fields can spark reactive oxygen, “redox,” reactions, just like microdroplets of water interacting with air or solid surfaces. This discovery provides a plausible explanation for where the reaction energy could have come from in a prebiotic environment without enzymes to catalyze reactions. Further research in this area could lead to a better understanding of how cells build and use biological condensates to either separate or trap together certain proteins and molecules, either hindering or promoting their activity. This could have important implications for the development of new therapeutic approaches to treat various diseases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the link between electrical charges in cells and the origin of life?
Recent research suggests that electrical charges across cell membranes may have played a role in the origin of life on Earth. These charges could have facilitated the formation of prebiotic molecules, which eventually led to the emergence of life.
How were electrical charges involved in the formation of prebiotic molecules?
It is believed that electrical charges across cell membranes may have helped to concentrate and organize prebiotic molecules, making it easier for them to react and form more complex structures. In addition, these charges may have facilitated the exchange of ions between cells and their environment, which could have played a role in the emergence of metabolic pathways.
What are some implications of this research for our understanding of the origins of life?
This research opens up new possibilities for understanding the origins of life and the conditions that may have enabled it to emerge. By exploring the role of electrical charges in the early stages of life, scientists may be able to gain new insights into how life first arose on Earth, and how it might arise on other planets or moons in the universe.
Fritjof Capra wrote The Systems View of Life and Microcosm by Karl Zimmer both worth a read on exactly this topic