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Access to azolopyrimidine-6,7-diamines as a valuable “building-blocks” to develop new fused heteroaromatic systems. Tetrahedron 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2021.132172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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2
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Menor Salván C, Bouza M, Fialho DM, Burcar BT, Fernández FM, Hud NV. Prebiotic Origin of Pre‐RNA Building Blocks in a Urea “Warm Little Pond” Scenario. Chembiochem 2020; 21:3504-3510. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Menor Salván
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- Dep. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
| | - Marcos Bouza
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
| | - David M. Fialho
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
| | - Bradley T. Burcar
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
| | - Facundo M. Fernández
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
| | - Nicholas V. Hud
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA 30302 USA
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Gately M, Wong S, Peoples J, Galamay D, Delgado G, Weber AL, Campbell T. Synthesis and base-pairing properties of pyrazine nucleic acids. NUCLEOSIDES NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS 2020; 39:866-891. [PMID: 32126892 DOI: 10.1080/15257770.2020.1711525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The diversity of backbone modifications in the study of primitive informational polymers is partly limited by the plausible formation of their prebiotic starting components. In this paper, we synthesize pyrazine nucleic acid, an acyclic polymer, with the nucleoside derivable from a prebiotic one-pot synthesis containing alanine amide and D-ribose. Pyrazine nucleic acid (PzNA) which has a backbone structurally similar to glycerol nucleic acid (GNA), contain pyrazine derived nucleosides as informational elements that may exhibit base pairing properties similar to the pyrimidines present in RNA.[1] We found that insertion of pyrazinone nucleotides into DNA oligonucleotide sequences is not well-tolerated, and that homogenous sequences of PzNA are unable to form duplexes with RNA or DNA. Reasons for our results may be attributed to the pyrazine-2-one moiety, which is purposed to be a thymine analog, but has a lower pKa (pKa ∼ 8.5) than thymine and uracil. Additionally, we discovered an "apparent" regioselective protection of pyrazine-2-one derivatives in the presence of a secondary hydroxyl group that proved crucial in the preparation of the pyrazine-2-one phosphoramidite. The regioselectivity observed is proposed to be of general interest in the context of heterocyclic chemistry. In the larger context of origins of life studies, it points to the importance of keto-enol preferences of the canonical nucleobases versus pyrazine heterocycles in functioning as recognition elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maura Gately
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Sarah Wong
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Jennifer Peoples
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Davin Galamay
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Guillermo Delgado
- Instituto de Química de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México
| | - Arthur L Weber
- SETI Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Tammy Campbell
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
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Prebiotic chemistry in neutral/reduced-alkaline gas-liquid interfaces. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1916. [PMID: 30760732 PMCID: PMC6374446 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36579-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The conditions for the potential abiotic formation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors have great implications for our understanding of the origin of life on Earth and for its possible detection in other environments of the Solar System. It is known that aerosol-interfaces are effective at enhancing prebiotic chemical reactions, but the roles of salinity and pH have been poorly investigated to date. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the uniqueness of alkaline aerosols as prebiotic reactors that produce an undifferentiated accumulation of a variety of multi-carbon biomolecules resulting from high-energy processes (in our case, electrical discharges). Using simulation experiments, we demonstrate that the detection of important biomolecules in tholins increases when plausible and particular local planetary environmental conditions are simulated. A greater diversity in amino acids, carboxylic acids, N-heterocycles, and ketoacids, such as glyoxylic and pyruvic acid, was identified in tholins synthetized from reduced and neutral atmospheres in the presence of alkaline aqueous aerosols than that from the same atmospheres but using neutral or acidic aqueous aerosols.
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Ruíz-Pérez KM, Quiroz-García B, Hernández-Rodríguez M. Prolinamides of Aminouracils, Organocatalyst Modifiable by Complementary Modules. European J Org Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.201800886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karen M. Ruíz-Pérez
- Instituto de Química; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Circuito Exterior; Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 México Cd. Mx. México
| | - Beatriz Quiroz-García
- Instituto de Química; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Circuito Exterior; Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 México Cd. Mx. México
| | - Marcos Hernández-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Química; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Circuito Exterior; Ciudad Universitaria, Del. Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 México Cd. Mx. México
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Hud NV, Cafferty BJ, Krishnamurthy R, Williams LD. The origin of RNA and "my grandfather's axe". ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 20:466-74. [PMID: 23601635 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2013.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2012] [Revised: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 03/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The origin of RNA is one of the most formidable problems facing prebiotic chemists. We consider RNA as a product of evolution, as opposed to the more conventional view of RNA as originally being the product of abiotic processes. We have come to accept that life's informational polymers have changed in chemical structure since their emergence, which presents a quandary similar to the paradox of "My Grandfather's Axe". Here, we discuss reasons why all contemporary components of RNA--the nucleobases, ribose, and phosphate--are not likely the original components of the first informational polymer(s) of life. We also evaluate three distinct models put forth as pathways for how the earliest informational polymers might have assembled. We see the quest to uncover the ancestors of RNA as an exciting scientific journey, one that is already providing additional chemical constraints on the origin of life and one that has the potential to produce self-assembling materials, novel catalysis, and bioactive compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas V Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
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Stoop M, Meher G, Karri P, Krishnamurthy R. Chemical etiology of nucleic acid structure: the pentulofuranosyl oligonucleotide systems: the (1'→3')-β-L-ribulo, (4'→3')-α-L-xylulo, and (1'→3')-α-L-xylulo nucleic acids. Chemistry 2013; 19:15336-45. [PMID: 24150882 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201302219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Under potentially prebiotic scenarios, ribose (pentose), the component of RNA is formed in meager amounts, as opposed to ribulose and xylulose (pentuloses). Consequently, replacement of ribose in RNA, with pentulose sugars, gives rise to prospective oligonucleotide candidates that are potentially prebiotic structural variants of RNA that could be formed by the same type of chemical pathways that gave rise to RNA from ribose. The potentially natural alternative (1'→3')-ribulo oligonucleotides and (4'→3')- and (1'→3')-xylulo oligonucleotides consisting of adenine and thymine were synthesized and found to exhibit no self-pairing or cross-pairing with RNA. This signifies that even though pentulose sugars may have been abundant in a prebiotic scenario, the pentulose nucleic acids (NAs), if and when formed, would not have been competitors of RNA, or interfered with the emergence of RNA as a functional informational system. The reason for the lack of base pairing in pentulose NA highlights the contrasting and central role played by the furanosyl ring in RNA and pentulose NA, enabling and optimizing the base pairing in RNA, while impeding it in pentulose NA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Stoop
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037 (USA), Fax: (+1) 858-784-8-9573
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Karri P, Punna V, Kim K, Krishnamurthy R. Base-Pairing Properties of a Structural Isomer of Glycerol Nucleic Acid. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013; 52:5840-4. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201300795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2013] [Revised: 03/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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9
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Karri P, Punna V, Kim K, Krishnamurthy R. Base-Pairing Properties of a Structural Isomer of Glycerol Nucleic Acid. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201300795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Kuruvilla E, Schuster GB, Hud NV. Enhanced nonenzymatic ligation of homopurine miniduplexes: support for greater base stacking in a pre-RNA world. Chembiochem 2012; 14:45-8. [PMID: 23225671 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201200601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The ancestors of RNA? There is a long-standing proposal that contemporary nucleic acids might have evolved from RNA-like polymers that utilized only purine-purine base pairs. Here we demonstrate the great advantage that increased nucleobase stacking area provides for nonenzymatic ligation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Kuruvilla
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA
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Eschenmoser A. Ätiologie potentiell primordialer Biomolekül-Strukturen: Vom Vitamin B12 zu den Nukleinsäuren und der Frage nach der Chemie der Entstehung des Lebens - ein Rückblick. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2011. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201103672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Eschenmoser A. Etiology of potentially primordial biomolecular structures: from vitamin B12 to the nucleic acids and an inquiry into the chemistry of life's origin: a retrospective. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2011; 50:12412-72. [PMID: 22162284 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201103672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
"We'll never be able to know" is a truism that leads to resignation with respect to any experimental effort to search for the chemistry of life's origin. But such resignation runs radically counter to the challenge imposed upon chemistry as a natural science. Notwithstanding the prognosis according to which the shortest path to understanding the metamorphosis of the chemical into the biological is by way of experimental modeling of "artificial chemical life", the scientific search for the route nature adopted in creating the life we know will arguably never truly end. It is, after all, part of the search for our own origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Eschenmoser
- Organisch-chemisches Laboratorium der ETH Zürich, Hönggerberg, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, CHI H309, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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