Aromatic patterns: Tryptophan aromaticity as a catalyst for the emergence of life and rise of consciousness |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;2. UC Irvine Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;3. Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;1. Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bizkaia, Spain;2. IAS-Research Center for Life, Mind and Society, University of the Basque Country, Donostia, Spain;3. Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK;1. Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany;2. Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany;3. Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany;4. VERSES Research Labs, Los Angeles, CA, USA;5. Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK;6. Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK;1. Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK;2. VERSES Research Lab and Spatial Web Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA;3. Department of Mathematics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3651, USA;1. Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, and Center of Electronics, Optoelectronics, and Telecommunications, University of the Algarve, Portugal;2. Department of Physics, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, USA;1. University of Granada, Spain;2. Politecnico Torino, Italy;3. Fondazione Collegio Carlo Alberto, Torino, Italy;5. Charles University, Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic;6. University of Torino, Italy;1. Departments of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, 369 Med Surge II, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, United States;2. Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, 369 Med Surge II, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, United States;3. Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of California, 369 Med Surge II, Irvine, CA 92697-4625, United States |
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| Abstract: | Sunlight held the key to the origin of life on Earth. The earliest life forms, cyanobacteria, captured the sunlight to generate energy through photosynthesis. Life on Earth evolved in accordance with the circadian rhythms tied to sensitivity to sunlight patterns. A unique feature of cyanobacterial photosynthetic proteins and circadian rhythms' molecules, and later of nearly all photon-sensing molecules throughout evolution, is that the aromatic amino acid tryptophan (Trp) resides at the center of light-harvesting active sites. In this perspective, I review the literature and integrate evidence from different scientific fields to explore the role Trp plays in photon-sensing capabilities of living organisms through its resonance delocalization of π-electrons. The observations presented here are the product of apparently unrelated phenomena throughout evolution, but nevertheless share consistent patterns of photon-sensing by Trp-containing and Trp-derived molecules. I posit the unique capacity to transfer electrons during photosynthesis in the earliest life forms is conferred to Trp due to its aromaticity. I propose this ability evolved to assume more complex functions, serving as a host for mechanisms underlying mental aptitudes – a concept which provides a theoretical basis for defining the neural correlates of consciousness. The argument made here is that Trp aromaticity may have allowed for the inception of the mechanistic building blocks used to fabricate complexity in higher forms of life. More specifically, Trp aromatic non-locality may have acted as a catalyst for the emergence of consciousness by instigating long-range synchronization and stabilizing the large-scale coherence of neural networks, which mediate functional brain activity. The concepts proposed in this perspective provide a conceptual foundation that invites further interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at examining and defining the role of aromaticity (beyond Trp) in the emergence of life and consciousness. |
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| Keywords: | Tryptophan Aromaticity Patterns"} {"#name":"keyword" "$":{"id":"kw0040"} "$$":[{"#name":"text" "_":"life Consciousness |
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