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Martínez RF, Cuccia LA, Viedma C, Cintas P. On the Origin of Sugar Handedness: Facts, Hypotheses and Missing Links-A Review. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2022; 52:21-56. [PMID: 35796896 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-022-09624-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
By paraphrasing one of Kipling's most amazing short stories (How the Leopard Got His Spots), this article could be entitled "How Sugars Became Homochiral". Obviously, we have no answer to this still unsolved mystery, and this perspective simply brings recent models, experiments and hypotheses into the homochiral homogeneity of sugars on earth. We shall revisit the past and current understanding of sugar chirality in the context of prebiotic chemistry, with attention to recent developments and insights. Different scenarios and pathways will be discussed, from the widely known formose-type processes to less familiar ones, often viewed as unorthodox chemical routes. In particular, problems associated with the spontaneous generation of enantiomeric imbalances and the transfer of chirality will be tackled. As carbohydrates are essential components of all cellular systems, astrochemical and terrestrial observations suggest that saccharides originated from environmentally available feedstocks. Such substances would have been capable of sustaining autotrophic and heterotrophic mechanisms integrating nutrients, metabolism and the genome after compartmentalization. Recent findings likewise indicate that sugars' enantiomeric bias may have emerged by a transfer of chirality mechanisms, rather than by deracemization of sugar backbones, yet providing an evolutionary advantage that fueled the cellular machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Fernando Martínez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
| | - Louis A Cuccia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM/CQMF), FRQNT, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Cristóbal Viedma
- Department of Crystallography and Mineralogy, University Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Cintas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
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2
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Carbon dioxide photoreduction in prebiotic environments. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2022; 21:863-878. [PMID: 35107790 DOI: 10.1007/s43630-021-00168-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The reduction of carbon dioxide is one of the hottest topics due to the concern of global warming. Carbon dioxide reduction is also an essential step for life's origins as photoautotrophs arose soon after Earth formation. Both the topics are of high general interest, and possibly, there could be a fruitful cross-fertilization of the two fields. Herein, we selected and collected papers related to photoreduction of carbon dioxide using compounds easily available on the Earth and considered of prebiotic relevance. This work might be useful also to scientists interested in carbon dioxide photoreduction and/or to have an overview of the techniques available.
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3
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Eckhardt AK, Bergantini A, Singh SK, Schreiner PR, Kaiser RI. Formation of Glyoxylic Acid in Interstellar Ices: A Key Entry Point for Prebiotic Chemistry. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019; 58:5663-5667. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- André K. Eckhardt
- Institute of Organic ChemistryJustus Liebig University Giessen Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Alexandre Bergantini
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
| | - Santosh K. Singh
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
| | - Peter R. Schreiner
- Institute of Organic ChemistryJustus Liebig University Giessen Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
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4
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Eckhardt AK, Bergantini A, Singh SK, Schreiner PR, Kaiser RI. Formation of Glyoxylic Acid in Interstellar Ices: A Key Entry Point for Prebiotic Chemistry. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201901059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- André K. Eckhardt
- Institute of Organic ChemistryJustus Liebig University Giessen Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Alexandre Bergantini
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
| | - Santosh K. Singh
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
| | - Peter R. Schreiner
- Institute of Organic ChemistryJustus Liebig University Giessen Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of ChemistryW. M. Keck Research Laboratory in AstrochemistryUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa 2545 McCarthy Mall Honolulu HI 96822 USA
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Istasse T, Bockstal L, Richel A. Production of 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural from D‐Fructose in Low‐Transition‐Temperature Mixtures Enhanced by Chloride Anions and Low Amounts of Organic Acids. Chempluschem 2018; 83:1135-1143. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201800416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut Istasse
- Laboratory of Biomass and Green TechnologiesUniversity of Liege 2, Passage des Déportés 5030 Gembloux Belgium
| | - Lauris Bockstal
- Laboratory of Biomass and Green TechnologiesUniversity of Liege 2, Passage des Déportés 5030 Gembloux Belgium
| | - Aurore Richel
- Laboratory of Biomass and Green TechnologiesUniversity of Liege 2, Passage des Déportés 5030 Gembloux Belgium
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6
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Ward G, Liotta CL, Krishnamurthy R, France S. Base-Mediated Cascade Aldol Addition and Fragmentation Reactions of Dihydroxyfumaric Acid and Aromatic Aldehydes: Controlling Chemodivergence via Choice of Base, Solvent, and Substituents. J Org Chem 2018; 83:14219-14233. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.8b01867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- George Ward
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Charles L. Liotta
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | | | - Stefan France
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
- Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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7
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Richter C, Berndt F, Kunde T, Mahrwald R. Decarboxylative Cascade Reactions of Dihydroxyfumaric Acid: A Preparative Approach to the Glyoxylate Scenario. Org Lett 2016; 18:2950-3. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.6b01287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Celin Richter
- Institute of Chemistry, Humboldt-University, Brook-Taylor Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Falko Berndt
- Institute of Chemistry, Humboldt-University, Brook-Taylor Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tom Kunde
- Institute of Chemistry, Humboldt-University, Brook-Taylor Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Rainer Mahrwald
- Institute of Chemistry, Humboldt-University, Brook-Taylor Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
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8
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Butch CJ, Wang J, Gu J, Vindas R, Crowe J, Pollet P, Gelbaum L, Leszczynski J, Krishnamurthy R, Liotta CL. pH‐controlled reaction divergence of decarboxylation versus fragmentation in reactions of dihydroxyfumarate with glyoxylate and formaldehyde: parallels to biological pathways. J PHYS ORG CHEM 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/poc.3542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. Butch
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jackson State University Jackson MS 39217 USA
| | - Jiande Gu
- Drug Design & Discovery Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201203 China
| | - Rebeca Vindas
- Department of Chemistry Georgia State University Atlanta GA 30302 USA
| | - Jacob Crowe
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Pamela Pollet
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Leslie Gelbaum
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Jerzy Leszczynski
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jackson State University Jackson MS 39217 USA
| | | | - Charles L. Liotta
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30332 USA
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Powner MW, Zheng SL, Szostak JW. Multicomponent assembly of proposed DNA precursors in water. J Am Chem Soc 2012; 134:13889-95. [PMID: 22839703 PMCID: PMC3424849 DOI: 10.1021/ja306176n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We propose a novel pathway for the prebiotic synthesis of 2'-deoxynucleotides. Consideration of the constitutional chemical relationships between glycolaldehyde and β-mercapto-acetaldehyde, and the corresponding proteinogenic amino acids, serine and cysteine, led us to explore the consequences of the corresponding sulfur substitution for our previously proposed pathways leading to the canonical ribonucleotides. We demonstrate that just as 2-aminooxazole-an important prebiotic ribonucleotide precursor-is readily formed from glycolaldehyde and cyanamide, so is 2-aminothiazole formed from β-mercapto-acetaldehyde and cyanamide in water at neutral pH. Indeed, both the oxazole and the thiazole can be formed together in a one-pot reaction, and can be co-purified by crystallization or sublimation. We then show that 2-aminothiazole can take part in a 3-component carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction in water that leads to the diastereoselective synthesis of masked 2'-thiosugars regiospecifically tethered to purine precursors, which would lead to 2'-deoxynucleotides upon desulfurization. The possibility of an abiotic route to the 2'-deoxynucleotides provides a new perspective on the evolutionary origins of DNA. We also show that 2-aminothiazole is able to sequester, through reversible aminal formation, the important nucleotide precursors glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde in a stable, crystalline form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew W Powner
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Laboratories, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK.
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Cantillo D, Ávalos M, Babiano R, Cintas P, Jiménez JL, Palacios JC. On the prebiotic synthesis of D-sugars catalyzed by L-peptides: assessments from first-principles calculations. Chemistry 2012; 18:8795-9. [PMID: 22689139 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201200466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
What accounts for a particular chiral selection in the case of a few sugars of prebiotic relevance, thereby mirroring the asymmetry observed in nature? By using first-principles calculations, the generation of pentoses from glycolaldehyde (the initial product of the autocatalytic formose reaction), which has been detected in outer space), has been modeled by using L-Val-L-Val as a primeval catalyst. Our theoretical study provides insight into the mechanism of this reaction and satisfactorily explains a few key molecular events. Our rationale agrees with the reported experimental data and shows that the D-configuration is only favored for ribose. L-pentoses are usually favored in the presence of L-configured dipeptides, as observed experimentally, although no chiral selection could be observed in the case of xylose. These results confirm that a prebiotic sugar soup could be fine-tuned in the presence of shorter peptides as catalysts and that D-ribose would have also resulted in an advantageous imbalance for further amplification and chemical evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Cantillo
- Department of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, Spain.
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Sagi VN, Punna V, Hu F, Meher G, Krishnamurthy R. Exploratory experiments on the chemistry of the "glyoxylate scenario": formation of ketosugars from dihydroxyfumarate. J Am Chem Soc 2012; 134:3577-89. [PMID: 22280414 PMCID: PMC3284196 DOI: 10.1021/ja211383c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
![]()
In the context of a “glyoxylate scenario”
of primordial
metabolism,1 the reactions of dihydroxyfumarate
(DHF) with reactive small molecule aldehydes (e.g., glyoxylate, formaldehyde,
glycolaldehyde, and glyceraldehyde) in water were investigated and
shown to form dihydroxyacetone, tetrulose, and the two pentuloses,
with almost quantitative conversion. The practically clean and selective
formation of ketoses in these reactions, with no detectable admixture
of aldoses, stands in stark contrast to the formose reaction, where
a complex mixture of linear and branched aldoses and ketoses are produced.
These results suggest that the reaction of DHF with aldehydes could
constitute a reasonable pathway for the formation of carbohydrates
and allow for alternative potential prebiotic scenarios to the formose
reaction to be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasudeva Naidu Sagi
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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