1
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Rezaeerod K, Heinzmann H, Torrence AV, Patel J, Forsythe JG. Qualitative Monitoring of Proto-Peptide Condensation by Differential FTIR Spectroscopy. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2024; 8:937-944. [PMID: 38774359 PMCID: PMC11103710 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Condensation processes such as wet-dry cycling are thought to have played significant roles in the emergence of proto-peptides. Here, we describe a simple and low-cost method, differential Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, for qualitative analysis of peptide condensation products in model primordial reactions. We optimize differential FTIR for depsipeptides and apply this method to investigate their polymerization in the presence of extraterrestrial dust simulants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keon Rezaeerod
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Hanna Heinzmann
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
- Analytical
and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Aalen University, 73430 Aalen, Germany
| | - Alexis V. Torrence
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Jui Patel
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Jay G. Forsythe
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
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2
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Todd ZR, Lozano GG, Kufner CL, Ranjan S, Catling DC, Sasselov DD. UV Transmission in Prebiotic Environments on Early Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:559-569. [PMID: 38768432 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) light is likely to have played important roles in surficial origins of life scenarios, potentially as a productive source of energy and molecular activation, as a selective means to remove unwanted side products, or as a destructive mechanism resulting in loss of molecules/biomolecules over time. The transmission of UV light through prebiotic waters depends upon the chemical constituents of such waters, but constraints on this transmission are limited. Here, we experimentally measure the molar decadic extinction coefficients for a number of small molecules used in various prebiotic synthetic schemes. We find that many small feedstock molecules absorb most at short (∼200 nm) wavelengths, with decreasing UV absorption at longer wavelengths. For comparison, we also measured the nucleobase adenine and found that adenine absorbs significantly more than the simpler molecules often invoked in prebiotic synthesis. Our results enable the calculation of UV photon penetration under varying chemical scenarios and allow further constraints on plausibility and self-consistency of such scenarios. While the precise path that prebiotic chemistry took remains elusive, improved understanding of the UV environment in prebiotically plausible waters can help constrain both the chemistry and the environmental conditions that may allow such chemistry to occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R Todd
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Gabriella G Lozano
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Corinna L Kufner
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sukrit Ranjan
- Lunar & Planetary Laboratory/Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - David C Catling
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Dimitar D Sasselov
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Sawant AA, Tripathi S, Galande S, Rajamani S. A Prebiotic Genetic Nucleotide as an Early Darwinian Ancestor for Pre-RNA Evolution. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:18072-18082. [PMID: 38680342 PMCID: PMC11044211 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Prebiotic genetic nucleotides (PGNs) often outcompete canonical alphabets in the formation of nucleotides and subsequent RNA oligomerization under early Earth conditions. This indicates that the early genetic code might have been dominated by pre-RNA that contained PGNs for information transfer and catalysis. Despite this, deciphering pre-RNAs' capacity to acquire function and delineating their evolutionary transition to a canonical RNA World has remained under-researched in the origins of life (OoL) field. We report the synthesis of a prebiotically relevant nucleotide (BaTP) containing the noncanonical nucleobase barbituric acid. We demonstrate the first instance of its enzymatic incorporation into an RNA, using a T7 RNA polymerase. BaTP's incorporation into baby spinach aptamer allowed it to retain its overall secondary structure and function. Finally, we also demonstrate faithful transfer of information from the pre-RNA-containing BaTP to DNA, using a high-fidelity RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, alluding to how selection pressures and complexities could have ensued during the molecular evolution of the early genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anupam A. Sawant
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
| | - Sneha Tripathi
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
| | - Sanjeev Galande
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
- Center
of Excellence in Epigenetics, Department of Life Sciences, School
of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution
of Eminence, Gautam Buddha
Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201314, India
| | - Sudha Rajamani
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
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4
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Yin Z, Chang YP, Balčiūnas T, Shakya Y, Djorović A, Gaulier G, Fazio G, Santra R, Inhester L, Wolf JP, Wörner HJ. Femtosecond proton transfer in urea solutions probed by X-ray spectroscopy. Nature 2023; 619:749-754. [PMID: 37380782 PMCID: PMC10371863 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06182-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Proton transfer is one of the most fundamental events in aqueous-phase chemistry and an emblematic case of coupled ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics1,2. Disentangling electronic and nuclear dynamics on the femtosecond timescales remains a formidable challenge, especially in the liquid phase, the natural environment of biochemical processes. Here we exploit the unique features of table-top water-window X-ray absorption spectroscopy3-6 to reveal femtosecond proton-transfer dynamics in ionized urea dimers in aqueous solution. Harnessing the element specificity and the site selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy with the aid of ab initio quantum-mechanical and molecular-mechanics calculations, we show how, in addition to the proton transfer, the subsequent rearrangement of the urea dimer and the associated change of the electronic structure can be identified with site selectivity. These results establish the considerable potential of flat-jet, table-top X-ray absorption spectroscopy7,8 in elucidating solution-phase ultrafast dynamics in biomolecular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhong Yin
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- International Center for Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Smart, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Sendai, Japan.
| | - Yi-Ping Chang
- GAP-Biophotonics, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
- European XFEL, Schenefeld, Germany
| | - Tadas Balčiūnas
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- GAP-Biophotonics, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Yashoj Shakya
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Giuseppe Fazio
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robin Santra
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ludger Inhester
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany.
- Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
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5
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Kerkeni B, Simmie JM. Peptide Bonds in the Interstellar Medium: Facile Catalytic Formation from Nitriles on Water-Ice Grains. J Phys Chem A 2023. [PMID: 37319370 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c00719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
A recent suggestion that acetamide, CH3C(O)NH2, could be readily formed on water-ice grains by the acid induced addition of water across the C≡N bond has now been shown to be credible. Computational modeling of the reaction between R-CN (R = H, CH3) and a cluster of 32 molecules of water and one H3O+ proceeds catalytically to form first a hydroxy imine R-C(OH)═NH and second an amide R-C(O)NH2. Quantum mechanical tunneling, computed from small-curvature estimates, plays a key role in the rates of these reactions. This work represents the first reasonable effort to show, in general, how amides can be formed from nitriles and water, which are abundant substrates, reacting on a water-ice cluster containing catalytic amounts of hydrons in the interstellar medium with consequential implications toward the origins of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boutheïna Kerkeni
- ISAMM, Université de la Manouba, Tunisia 2010; Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, Université Tunis el Manar, Tunis 2092, Tunisia
| | - John M Simmie
- School of Chemistry, University of Galway Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
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6
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Caimi F, Zanchetta G. Twisted Structures in Natural and Bioinspired Molecules: Self-Assembly and Propagation of Chirality Across Multiple Length Scales. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:17350-17361. [PMID: 37251126 PMCID: PMC10210192 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Several biomolecules can form dynamic aggregates in water, whose nanometric structures often reflect the chirality of the monomers in unexpected ways. Their twisted organization can be further propagated to the mesoscale, in chiral liquid crystalline phases, and even to the macroscale, where chiral, layered architectures contribute to the chromatic and mechanical properties of various plant, insect, and animal tissues. At all scales, the resulting organization is determined by a subtle balance among chiral and nonchiral interactions, whose understanding and fine-tuning is fundamental also for applications. We present recent advances in the chiral self-assembly and mesoscale ordering of biological and bioinspired molecules in water, focusing on systems based on nucleic acids or related aromatic molecules, oligopeptides, and their hybrid stuctures. We highlight the common features and key mechanisms governing this wide range of phenomena, together with novel characterization approaches.
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7
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Pavlinova P, Lambert CN, Malaterre C, Nghe P. Abiogenesis through gradual evolution of autocatalysis into template-based replication. FEBS Lett 2023; 597:344-379. [PMID: 36203246 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14507] [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: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
How life emerged from inanimate matter is one of the most intriguing questions posed to modern science. Central to this research are experimental attempts to build systems capable of Darwinian evolution. RNA catalysts (ribozymes) are a promising avenue, in line with the RNA world hypothesis whereby RNA pre-dated DNA and proteins. Since evolution in living organisms relies on template-based replication, the identification of a ribozyme capable of replicating itself (an RNA self-replicase) has been a major objective. However, no self-replicase has been identified to date. Alternatively, autocatalytic systems involving multiple RNA species capable of ligation and recombination may enable self-reproduction. However, it remains unclear how evolution could emerge in autocatalytic systems. In this review, we examine how experimentally feasible RNA reactions catalysed by ribozymes could implement the evolutionary properties of variation, heredity and reproduction, and ultimately allow for Darwinian evolution. We propose a gradual path for the emergence of evolution, initially supported by autocatalytic systems leading to the later appearance of RNA replicases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polina Pavlinova
- Laboratoire de Biophysique et Evolution, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Camille N Lambert
- Laboratoire de Biophysique et Evolution, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Christophe Malaterre
- Laboratory of Philosophy of Science (LAPS) and Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche sur la Science et la Technologie (CIRST), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada
| | - Philippe Nghe
- Laboratoire de Biophysique et Evolution, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, Paris, France
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8
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Building the uracil skeleton in primitive ponds at the origins of life: carbamoylation of aspartic acid. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19178. [PMID: 36357418 PMCID: PMC9649776 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21272-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A large set of nucleobases and amino acids is found in meteorites, implying that several chemical reservoirs are present in the solar system. The "geochemical continuity" hypothesis explores how protometabolic paths developed from so-called "bricks" in an enzyme-free prebiotic world and how they affected the origins of life. In the living cell, the second step of synthesizing uridine and cytidine RNA monomers is a carbamoyl transfer from a carbamoyl donor to aspartic acid. Here we compare two enzyme-free scenarios: aqueous and mineral surface scenarios in a thermal range up to 250 °C. Both processes could have happened in ponds under open atmosphere on the primeval Earth. Carbamoylation of aspartic acid with cyanate in aqueous solutions at 25 °C gives high N-carbamoyl aspartic acid yields within 16 h. It is important to stress that, while various molecules could be efficient carbamoylating agents according to thermodynamics, kinetics plays a determining role in selecting prebiotically possible pathways.
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9
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Prebiotic synthesis of noncanonical nucleobases under plausible alkaline hydrothermal conditions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15140. [PMID: 36071125 PMCID: PMC9452575 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19474-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, the potential of alkaline hydrothermal environments for the synthesis of possible ancestral pre-RNA nucleobases using cyanide as a primary source of carbon and nitrogen is described. Water cyanide polymerizations were assisted by microwave radiation to obtain high temperature and a relatively high pressure (MWR, 180 °C, 15 bar) and were also carried out using a conventional thermal system (CTS, 80 °C, 1 bar) to simulate subaerial and aerial hydrothermal conditions, respectively, on the early Earth. For these syntheses, the initial concentration of cyanide and the diffusion effects were studied. In addition, it is well known that hydrolysis conditions are directly related to the amount and diversity of organic molecules released from cyanide polymers. Thus, as a first step, we studied the effect of several hydrolysis procedures, generally used in prebiotic chemistry, on some of the potential pre-RNA nucleobases of interest, together with some of their isomers and/or deamination products, also presumably formed in these complex reactions. The results show that the alkaline hydrothermal scenarios with a relatively constant pH are good geological scenarios for the generation of noncanonical nucleobases using cyanide as a prebiotic precursor.
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10
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Menor‐Salván C, Burcar BT, Bouza M, Fialho DM, Fernández FM, Hud NV. A Shared Prebiotic Formation of Neopterins and Guanine Nucleosides from Pyrimidine Bases. Chemistry 2022; 28:e202200714. [PMID: 35537135 PMCID: PMC9401002 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202200714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- César Menor‐Salván
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta 30302 GA USA
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
| | - Bradley T. Burcar
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
- NASA HQ/Georgetown University/GSFC Greenbelt MD 20771
| | - Marcos Bouza
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
- Dept. of Physical and Analytical Chemistry Universidad de Jaen Jaén 23071 Jaen Spain
| | - David M. Fialho
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta 30302 GA USA
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
| | - Facundo M. Fernández
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta 30302 GA USA
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
| | - Nicholas V. Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta 30302 GA USA
- Dept. de Biología de Sistemas/IQAR Universidad de Alcalá 28806 Madrid Spain
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11
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Zarlenga D, Thompson P, Mitreva M, Rosa BA, Hoberg E. Horizontal gene transfer provides insights into the deep evolutionary history and biology of Trichinella. Food Waterborne Parasitol 2022; 27:e00155. [PMID: 35542181 PMCID: PMC9079694 DOI: 10.1016/j.fawpar.2022.e00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolution involves temporal changes in the characteristics of a species that are subsequently propagated or rejected through natural selection. In the case of parasites, host switching also plays a prominent role in the evolutionary process. These changes are rooted in genetic variation and gene flow where genes may be deleted, mutated (sequence), duplicated, rearranged and/or translocated and then transmitted through vertical gene transfer. However, the introduction of new genes is not driven only by Mendelian inheritance and mutation but also by the introduction of DNA from outside a lineage in the form of horizontal gene transfer between donor and recipient organisms. Once introduced and integrated into the biology of the recipient, vertical inheritance then perpetuates the newly acquired genetic factor, where further functionality may involve co-option of what has become a pre-existing physiological capacity. Upon sequencing the Trichinella spiralis (Clade I) genome, a cyanate hydratase (cyanase) gene was identified that is common among bacteria, fungi, and plants, but rarely observed among other eukaryotes. The sequence of the Trichinella cyanase gene clusters with those derived from the Kingdom Plantae in contrast to the genes found in some Clade III and IV nematodes that cluster with cyanases of bacterial origin. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the Trichinella cyanase was acquired during the Devonian period and independently from those of other nematodes. These data may help inform us of the deep evolutionary history and ecological connectivity of early ancestors within the lineage of contemporary Trichinella. Further, in many extant organisms, cyanate detoxification has been largely superseded by energy requirements for metabolism. Thus, deciphering the function of Trichinella cyanase may provide new avenues for treatment and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dante Zarlenga
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, B1180 BARC-East Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Peter Thompson
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, B1180 BARC-East Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Makedonka Mitreva
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- McDonnel Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Bruce A. Rosa
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- McDonnel Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA
| | - Eric Hoberg
- Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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12
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Vincent L, Colón-Santos S, Cleaves HJ, Baum DA, Maurer SE. The Prebiotic Kitchen: A Guide to Composing Prebiotic Soup Recipes to Test Origins of Life Hypotheses. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11111221. [PMID: 34833097 PMCID: PMC8618940 DOI: 10.3390/life11111221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
“Prebiotic soup” often features in discussions of origins of life research, both as a theoretical concept when discussing abiological pathways to modern biochemical building blocks and, more recently, as a feedstock in prebiotic chemistry experiments focused on discovering emergent, systems-level processes such as polymerization, encapsulation, and evolution. However, until now, little systematic analysis has gone into the design of well-justified prebiotic mixtures, which are needed to facilitate experimental replicability and comparison among researchers. This paper explores principles that should be considered in choosing chemical mixtures for prebiotic chemistry experiments by reviewing the natural environmental conditions that might have created such mixtures and then suggests reasonable guidelines for designing recipes. We discuss both “assembled” mixtures, which are made by mixing reagent grade chemicals, and “synthesized” mixtures, which are generated directly from diversity-generating primary prebiotic syntheses. We discuss different practical concerns including how to navigate the tremendous uncertainty in the chemistry of the early Earth and how to balance the desire for using prebiotically realistic mixtures with experimental tractability and replicability. Examples of two assembled mixtures, one based on materials likely delivered by carbonaceous meteorites and one based on spark discharge synthesis, are presented to illustrate these challenges. We explore alternative procedures for making synthesized mixtures using recursive chemical reaction systems whose outputs attempt to mimic atmospheric and geochemical synthesis. Other experimental conditions such as pH and ionic strength are also considered. We argue that developing a handful of standardized prebiotic recipes may facilitate coordination among researchers and enable the identification of the most promising mechanisms by which complex prebiotic mixtures were “tamed” during the origin of life to give rise to key living processes such as self-propagation, information processing, and adaptive evolution. We end by advocating for the development of a public prebiotic chemistry database containing experimental methods (including soup recipes), results, and analytical pipelines for analyzing complex prebiotic mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Vincent
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - Stephanie Colón-Santos
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - H. James Cleaves
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, The Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA;
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Seattle, WA 97154, USA
| | - David A. Baum
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
| | - Sarah E. Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT 06050, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
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13
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Schuster GB, Cafferty BJ, Karunakaran SC, Hud NV. Water-Soluble Supramolecular Polymers of Paired and Stacked Heterocycles: Assembly, Structure, Properties, and a Possible Path to Pre-RNA. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:9279-9296. [PMID: 34152760 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c13081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The hypothesis that RNA and DNA are products of chemical and biological evolution has motivated our search for alternative nucleic acids that may have come earlier in the emergence of life-polymers that possess a proclivity for covalent and non-covalent self-assembly not exhibited by RNA. Our investigations have revealed a small set of candidate ancestral nucleobases that self-assemble into hexameric rosettes that stack in water to form long, twisted, rigid supramolecular polymers. These structures exhibit properties that provide robust solutions to long-standing problems that have stymied the search for a prebiotic synthesis of nucleic acids. Moreover, their examination by experimental and computational methods provides insight into the chemical and physical principles that govern a particular class of water-soluble one-dimensional supramolecular polymers. In addition to efficient self-assembly, their lengths and polydispersity are modulated by a wide variety of positively charged, planar compounds; their assembly and disassembly are controlled over an exceedingly narrow pH range; they exhibit spontaneous breaking of symmetry; and homochirality emerges through non-covalent cross-linking during hydrogel formation. Some of these candidate ancestral nucleobases spontaneously form glycosidic bonds with ribose and other sugars, and, most significantly, functionalized forms of these heterocycles form supramolecular structures and covalent polymers under plausibly prebiotic conditions. This Perspective recounts a journey of discovery that continues to reveal attractive answers to questions concerning the origins of life and to uncover the principles that control the structure and properties of water-soluble supramolecular polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Schuster
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Brian J Cafferty
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Suneesh C Karunakaran
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Nicholas V Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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14
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Alenaizan A, Borca CH, Karunakaran SC, Kendall AK, Stubbs G, Schuster GB, Sherrill CD, Hud NV. X-ray Fiber Diffraction and Computational Analyses of Stacked Hexads in Supramolecular Polymers: Insight into Self-Assembly in Water by Prospective Prebiotic Nucleobases. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:6079-6094. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c12010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asem Alenaizan
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- Center for Computational Molecular Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Carlos H. Borca
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- Center for Computational Molecular Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Suneesh C. Karunakaran
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Amy K. Kendall
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Gerald Stubbs
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States
| | - Gary B. Schuster
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - C. David Sherrill
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- Center for Computational Molecular Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0765, United States
| | - Nicholas V. Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
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15
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Hortal L, Pérez-Fernández C, de la Fuente JL, Valles P, Mateo-Martí E, Ruiz-Bermejo M. A dual perspective on the microwave-assisted synthesis of HCN polymers towards the chemical evolution and design of functional materials. Sci Rep 2020; 10:22350. [PMID: 33339853 PMCID: PMC7749158 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79112-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper, the first study on NH4CN polymerization induced by microwave radiation is described, where a singular kinetic behaviour, especially when this reaction is conducted in the absence of air, is found. As a result, a complex conjugated N-heterocyclic polymer system is obtained, whose properties are very different, and even improved according to morphological features, characterized by their X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy analysis, with respect to those produced under conventional thermal treatment. In addition, a wide variety of relevant bioorganics have been identified, such as amino acids, nucleobases, co-factors, etc., from the synthetized NH4CN polymers. These particular families of polymers are of high interest in the fields of astrobiology and prebiotic chemistry and, more recently, in the development of smart multifunctional materials. From an astrobiological perspective, microwave-driven syntheses may simulate hydrothermal environments, which are considered ideal niches for increasing organic molecular complexity, and eventually as scenarios for an origin of life. From an industrial point of view and for potential applications, a microwave irradiation process leads to a notable decrease in the reaction times, and tune the properties of these new series macromolecular systems. The characteristics found for these materials encourage the development of further systematic research on this alternative HCN polymerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Hortal
- Dpto. Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Pérez-Fernández
- Dpto. Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - José L de la Fuente
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial "Esteban Terradas" (INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Valles
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial "Esteban Terradas" (INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Mateo-Martí
- Dpto. Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Ruiz-Bermejo
- Dpto. Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra. Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain.
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