Professor Lena Daumann and her team at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf are examining rare earth elements from two directions that rarely meet in the same research program: their selective binding in biological systems and their possible involvement in the chemical networks that preceded life. Their recent work brings together bioinorganic chemistry, materials science, and prebiotic chemistry, offering insights that are relevant both to modern engineering challenges and to long-standing questions about early Earth chemistry.
Gutenthaler‐Tietze, J., Heßler, C. G., & Daumann, L. J. (2025). Influence of Rare Earth Elements on Prebiotic Reaction Networks Resembling the Biologically Relevant Krebs Cycle. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202516853
Rare earth elements comprise 17 metals with closely related chemical properties, including scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides. Despite their name, they are not scarce in the Earth’s crust, but their uneven distribution and the complexity of separating them make them strategically important. They are essential for a wide range of technologies, from permanent magnets in wind turbines to catalysts, optics, and consumer electronics. These same properties have also prompted interest in biological strategies for binding and separating rare earth elements more efficiently.
Professor Lena Daumann and her team at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf stated,
“The ionic radii of rare earth elements are key to their reactivity. We also noted that even very small concentrations are already sufficient to have a significant influence on the reaction network. The results thus bring a previously underestimated group of elements into the focus of prebiotic research.”
One focus of Daumann’s group is how organisms interact with these metals. Certain bacteria can selectively absorb lanthanides, using specialized proteins to do so. Building on this concept, the researchers studied lanmodulin, a protein found in the bacterium Methylorubrum extorquens, which binds rare earth elements with high specificity. Instead of working with the full protein, the team designed short peptides that capture key features of the metal-binding sites, making them more practical for technical applications.
During peptide synthesis, the researchers unintentionally reversed the amino acid sequence relative to the natural protein. Rather than weakening metal binding, this change increased the affinity for lanthanides by roughly an order of magnitude. Structural analysis revealed motifs that stabilize the metal–peptide interaction, and further optimization pushed the binding strength into the low nanomolar range. These short peptides are easier to produce and modify than full proteins, making them promising candidates for use in selective separation systems or recycling technologies aimed at recovering rare earth elements from electronic waste.
Alongside this applied work, the team investigated a more fundamental question: whether rare earth elements could have influenced chemical reaction networks on the early Earth. Research on the origin of life often emphasizes the catalytic role of metals such as iron, but rare earth elements have received little attention in this context. Daumann’s group tested their effects in simplified chemical systems based on small organic acids thought to have been present before biological metabolism emerged.
Using glyoxylate and pyruvate as starting materials, the researchers examined reaction networks resembling parts of the modern Krebs cycle. In the presence of rare earth elements, several intermediates of this central metabolic pathway formed without enzymes. The reactions produced an interconnected network rather than a single sequence, a feature consistent with current models of prebiotic chemistry. Notably, these effects occurred at very low metal concentrations.
The experiments suggest that the ionic size and coordination behavior of rare earth elements can stabilize reactive intermediates and promote transformations that are otherwise less favorable. While the findings do not imply that rare earth elements were required for the emergence of life, they indicate that this group of metals could have contributed to early chemical complexity alongside more commonly studied elements.
Taken together, the two studies highlight how the same chemical properties can be relevant across very different contexts. Short peptides that bind rare earth elements point toward more selective and sustainable approaches to metal recovery, while prebiotic reaction studies expand the range of elements considered in models of early metabolism. For engineering and science alike, the work underscores that rare earth elements may play broader roles than traditionally assumed, linking modern technological challenges with questions about the deep chemical history of life.
Adrian graduated with a Masters Degree (1st Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Chester University along with Harris. His master’s research aimed to develop a standardadised clean water oxygenation transfer procedure to test bubble diffusers that are currently used in the wastewater industry commercial market. He has also undergone placments in both US and China primarely focused within the R&D department and is an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).
