Biology:Paleoenzymology

Paleoenzymology (British: palaeoenzymology) is the study of prehistoric life through the properties of enzymes present in those organisms. Ancient enzymes can be reconstructed if their sequences can be inferred from the sequences of current enzymes. Such inferrence is possible through phylogenetic techniques such as maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.

Examples

One example is the reconstruction of thioredoxin enzymes from up to 4 billion year old organisms. Whereas the chemical activity of these reconstructed enzymes were remarkably similar to modern enzymes, their physical properties showed significantly elevated thermal and acidic stability. These results were interpreted as suggesting that ancient life may have evolved in oceans that were much hotter and more acidic than today.