Overview
- The paper, published 5 August 2026 in Science Advances, combines a new algorithmic ordering of roughly 420 core metabolic reactions with genome and protein‑structure comparisons and laboratory experiments.
- Authors reconstruct four catalytic phases: a metal‑only prebiotic chemistry, a metal–enzyme hybrid phase represented by LUCA, and two separate enzyme‑driven transitions in the ancestors of bacteria and archaea.
- Genomic and structural analyses show many core metabolic reactions are catalysed by structurally different enzymes in bacteria versus archaea, which the team interprets as independent invention of free‑living metabolic machinery.
- Laboratory tests found that phosphite with palladium can drive phosphorylation reactions in water that mimic ATP‑dependent steps, giving a plausible vent‑based energy route but requiring independent replication and geochemical validation.
- If supported by follow‑up work, the findings would reframe LUCA as a transitional, environment‑dependent stage and imply two independent origins of free‑living cells, with implications for how we search for life’s origins on Earth and elsewhere.