Type
Article
Abstract
The biological significance of the transition metal molybdenum (Mo) lies in its function at the catalytic center of several enzymes that drive a wide spectrum of redox reactions underlying global biogeochemical cycles, yet a paradox persists. While modern life ubiquitously relies on Mo, geochemical evidence suggests that its availability in early Earth’s anoxic oceans was extremely limited. Modern organisms can use Mo down to trace levels; however, the rates of Mo-dependent metabolisms slow down when Mo availability decreases, posing fundamental questions about the extent to which changing Mo abundances shaped the evolution of molybdoenzymes, and when early life began harnessing Mo. Here, we confront this evolutionary enigma by reconstructing the temporal and ecological emergence of molybdoenzymes, their transport systems, and biosynthetic pathways. In parallel, we examine biological tungsten (W) usage due to shared chemical properties and cofactor biosynthetic pathways with Mo. We provide molecular dating evidence of Mo/W utilization back to the Eo- to Mesoarchean (~3.7–3.1 Ga). These findings challenge prevailing assumptions about trace metal availability on the early Earth and underscore the profound antiquity and adaptability of Mo-based biochemistry in shaping early microbial evolution.
Language
English
Department(s)
Biology
Journal or Book Title
Nature Communications
Publication Year
2026
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72133-0
Publisher
Springer Nature
Rights Management
The original authors own the copyright to this work and have granted Carleton College permission to display and distribute it online through the Carleton College Library. For more information on the copyright status of this work, refer to the current copyright holder.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Rika, Aya S. Klos, Morgan S. Sobol, Joanne S. Boden, Eva E. Stüeken, Kurt O. Konhauser, and Betül Kaçar. 2026. "Biological use of molybdenum and tungsten stems back to 3.4 billion years ago." Nature Communications 17, (3943)Available at: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72133-0. Accessed via Faculty Work. Biology. Carleton Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.carleton.edu/biol_faculty/10
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72133-0
