Abiotic synthesis of amino acids under hydrothermal conditions and the origin of life: A perpetual phenomenon?

1992 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 361-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. -C. Hennet ◽  
N. G. Holm ◽  
M. H. Engel
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Hydrothermal Conditions ◽  
Abiotic Synthesis ◽  
The Origin Of Life

Autocatalytic chemical networks preceded proteins and RNA in evolution

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana C. Xavier ◽  
Wim Hordijk ◽  
Stuart Kauffman ◽  
Mike Steel ◽  
William F. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Small Molecule ◽  
Metabolic Networks ◽  
Early Earth ◽  
Prebiotic Evolution ◽  
Biochemical Evolution ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Acids And Bases ◽  
Open Question

AbstractModern cells embody metabolic networks containing thousands of elements and form autocatalytic molecule sets that produce copies of themselves. How the first self-sustaining metabolic networks arose at life’ s origin is a major open question. Autocatalytic molecule sets smaller than metabolic networks were proposed as transitory intermediates at the origin of life, but evidence for their role in prebiotic evolution is lacking. Here we identify reflexively autocatalytic food-generated networks (RAFs)—self-sustaining networks that collectively catalyze all their reactions—embedded within microbial metabolism. RAFs in the metabolism of ancient anaerobic autotrophs that live from H2 and CO2 generate amino acids and bases, the monomeric components of protein and RNA, and acetyl-CoA, but amino acids and bases do not generate metabolic RAFs, indicating that small-molecule catalysis preceded polymers in biochemical evolution. RAFs uncover intermediate stages in the origin of metabolic networks, narrowing the gaps between early-Earth chemistry and life.

The sulfocyanic theory on the origin of life: towards a critical reappraisal of an autotrophic theory

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Perezgasga ◽  
E. Silva ◽  
A. Lazcano ◽  
A. Negrón-Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Identification ◽  
Chemical Significance ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Emergence Of Life

In the early 1930s, Alfonso L. Herrera proposed his so-called sulfocyanic theory on the origin of life, an autotrophic proposal on the first living beings according to which NH4SCN and H2CO acted as raw materials for the synthesis of bio-organic compounds inside primordial photosynthetic protoplasmic structures. Although the work of Herrera is frequently cited in historical analysis of the development of the origin of life studies, very little attention has been given to the chemical significance of the reactions he published. In this paper we report the results of our search for amino acids obtained from a reactive mixture used by Herrera from 1933 onwards. Chromatograms using the high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique suggest the presence of several amino acids, the total yield being 2% of the initial thiocyanate used. Preliminary identification based on HPLC retention times suggests the presence of glycine, alanine, cysteine and methionine. Alanine was the most abundant amino acid in all samples of fractionated material analysed. Although the starting materials used by Herrera were determined by his autotrophic hypothesis on the origin of cells, our results show that his experiments may provide insights into the abiotic synthesis of sulfur-containing amino acids within the framework of a heterotrophic emergence of life.

scholarly journals N–H Chirality in Folded Peptide LK7β is Governed by the Cα–H Chirality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Hu ◽  
Li Fu ◽  
jian hou ◽  
yuening zhang ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Vibrational Spectroscopy ◽  
Sum Frequency Generation ◽  
Sum Frequency ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Frequency Generation

Recent chiral sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (cSFG-VS) measurements revealed that the two N-H stretching modes in the 3000-3500 cm-1 range in folded protein and peptide exhibit chiral characteristics. Here we report the first phase-resolved sub-wavenumber high-resolution broadband SFG-VS (HR-BB-SFG-VS) measurement of the LK7β peptide. The results show that this chiral N-H band consists of four, instead of two, distinctive peaks, and they are with two groups of opposite spectral phases. Moreover, the phases of these N-H peaks completely flip from the L-LK7β to the D-LK7β peptide, suggesting that the chirality of the N-H in the folded LK7β peptide is completely governed by the chirality of the Cα–H of the amino acids. This discovery provides clue on why proteins in nature are composed of α-amino acids rather than β- or γ-amino acids, and may help us understand the question on the origin of life.

scholarly journals N–H Chirality in Folded Peptide LK7β is Governed by the Cα–H Chirality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Hu ◽  
Li Fu ◽  
jian hou ◽  
yuening zhang ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Vibrational Spectroscopy ◽  
Sum Frequency Generation ◽  
Sum Frequency ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Frequency Generation

Recent chiral sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (cSFG-VS) measurements revealed that the two N-H stretching modes in the 3000-3500 cm-1 range in folded protein and peptide exhibit chiral characteristics. Here we report the first phase-resolved sub-wavenumber high-resolution broadband SFG-VS (HR-BB-SFG-VS) measurement of the LK7β peptide. The results show that this chiral N-H band consists of four, instead of two, distinctive peaks, and they are with two groups of opposite spectral phases. Moreover, the phases of these N-H peaks completely flip from the L-LK7β to the D-LK7β peptide, suggesting that the chirality of the N-H in the folded LK7β peptide is completely governed by the chirality of the Cα–H of the amino acids. This discovery provides clue on why proteins in nature are composed of α-amino acids rather than β- or γ-amino acids, and may help us understand the question on the origin of life.

scholarly journals Astrochemistry as the basics of Astrobiology: from simplest molecules to bioindicatorsonexoplanets surfaces

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-64
Author(s):  
A.G. Yeghikyan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Complex Compounds ◽  
Optically Active ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Heavy Hydrocarbons ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Other Substances ◽  
The Origin Of Life

The problem of the origin of Life is discussed from the astrophysical point of view. Most biologists and geologists up to the present time believe that Life was originated on the Earth in some initial natural chemical pre-reactors, where a mixture of water, ammonia, methane containing species and some other substances, under the influence of an energy source like, e.g. lightning, turned into quite complex compounds such as amino acids and complex hydrocarbons. In fact, under conditions of the primordial Earth, it is not possible to obtain such pre-biological molecules by not-bio-chemical methods, as discussed in this paper. Instead, an astrophysical view of the problem of the origin of Life on the Earth is proposed and it is recalled that the biological evolution on the Earth was preceded by the chemical evolution of complex chemical compounds, mostly under extraterrestrial conditions, where it is only possible to form optically active amino acids, sugars and heavy hydrocarbons necessary for constructing the first pre-biomolecules. Then, according to a widespread point of view, they were brought to Earth by comets and dust between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago. Some part of the matter of comets landed unchanged during grazing collisions. Prebiotic complexes on the surface of the planet participate in the formation of a specific cover with a reflective spectrum (or color index), whose characteristic details can be tried to reveal by observation. The most promising bio-indicators at present are optically active amino acids and their derivatives, however, the existing observational capabilities are insufficient to identify them. More promising as (pre)biomarkers are the heavy hydrocarbons discussed in this article, in particular bitumen and isoprene hydrocarbons.

Hydrothermal Conditions are Conducive for the Origin of Life

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Deamer
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Mineral Surfaces ◽  
Hydrothermal Conditions ◽  
Initial Field ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Hydrothermal Fields

Alexander Ivanovich Oparin was first to consider the origin of life in strictly scientific terms. Oparin published The Origin of Life in 1924, in his native Russian language, and was active in the field for the next 50 years. During my initial field work in the volcanic regions of Kamchatka, organized with Vladimir Kompanichenko, we visited the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Petropavlovsk, and I happened to see the above quote painted on a wall near the entrance. Oparin’s proposal about how life can begin was intuitive because he had no experimental evidence as a foundation, but as our party rode in helicopters up and down the peninsula from one volcanic site to the next, I began to share his intuition. The focus of this chapter concerns the properties of water in contact with mineral surfaces heated by volcanism, inspired by what we saw in Kamchatka. Four billion years ago, as the global temperature decreased following the condensation of the ocean, there came a point at which the components required for the origin of life could assemble into systems of encapsulated polymers. Two alternative hydrothermal conditions have been proposed as sites where this could have occurred: salty seawater at submarine hydrothermal vents and freshwater circulating in hydrothermal fields associated with volcanic land masses. To weigh the alternatives, this chapter considers the chemical and physical properties of hydrothermal vents and hydrothermal fields and how each could contribute to the origin of cellular life. Questions to be addressed: What are the chemical and physical properties of hydrothermal vents? How do the properties of hydrothermal fields differ from those of vents? How are these properties related to the way that organic solutes can undergo physical and chemical interactions related to the origin of life? Suppose that an organic chemist decides to synthesize a new compound that involves making an ester bond. The chemist is provided with a solution of the two reactants such as acetic acid and ethanol, and then is given a choice: should the reaction be run in an ice bath or instead heated to boiling and refluxed?

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