1
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Hazra B, Prasad M, Das S, Mandal R, Sardar A, Dewangan N, Tarafdar PK. Phosphate-Based Amphiphile and Lipidated Lysine Assemble into Superior Protocellular Membranes over Carboxylate and Sulfate-Based Systems: A Potential Missing Link between Prebiotic and the Modern Era? LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:17031-17042. [PMID: 37984966 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Amphiphiles are among the most extensively studied building blocks that self-assemble into cell-like compartments. Most literature suggested that the building blocks/amphiphiles of early Earth (fatty acid-based membrane) were much simpler than today's phospholipids. To establish the bridge between the prebiotic fatty acid era and the modern phospholipid era, the investigation and characterization of alternate building blocks that form protocellular membranes are necessary. Herein, we report the potential prebiotic synthesis of alkyl phosphate, alkyl carboxylate, and alkyl sulfate amphiphiles (anionic) using dry-down reactions and demonstrate a more general role of cationic amino acid-based amphiphiles to recruit the anionic amphiphiles via ion-pair, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. The formation and self-assembly of the catanionic (mixed) amphiphilic system to vesicular morphology were characterized by turbidimetric, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, and glucose encapsulation experiments. Further experiments suggest that the phosphate-based vesicles were more stable than the alkyl sulfate and alkyl carboxylate-based systems. Moreover, the alkyl phosphate system can form vesicles at prebiotically relevant acidic pH (5.0), while alkyl carboxylate mainly forms cluster-type aggregates. An extended supramolecular polymer-type network formation via H-bonding and ion-pair interactions might order the membrane interface and stabilize the phosphate-based vesicles. The results suggest that phosphate-based amphiphiles might be a superior successor to fatty acids as early compartment building blocks. The work highlights the importance of previously unexplored building blocks that participate in protocellular membrane formation to encapsulate important precursors required for the functions of early life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibhas Hazra
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Mahesh Prasad
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Subrata Das
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Raki Mandal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Avijit Sardar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Nikesh Dewangan
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Pradip K Tarafdar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
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2
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Aleksandrova M, Rahmatova F, Russell DA, Bonfio C. Ring Opening of Glycerol Cyclic Phosphates Leads to a Diverse Array of Potentially Prebiotic Phospholipids. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:25614-25620. [PMID: 37971368 PMCID: PMC10690765 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c07319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Phospholipids are the primary constituents of cell membranes across all domains of life, but how and when phospholipids appeared on early Earth remains unknown. Pressingly, most prebiotic syntheses of complex phospholipids rely upon substrates not yet shown to have been available on early Earth. Here, we describe potentially prebiotic syntheses of a diverse array of complex phospholipids and their building blocks. First, we show that choline could have been produced on early Earth by stepwise N-methylation of ethanolamine. Second, taking a systems chemistry approach, we demonstrate that the intrinsically activated glycerol-2,3-cyclic phosphate undergoes ring opening with combinations of prebiotic amino alcohols to yield complex phospholipid headgroups. Importantly, this pathway selects for the formation of 2-amino alcohol-bearing phospholipid headgroups and enables the accumulation of their natural regioisomers. Finally, we show that the dry-state ring opening of cyclic lysophosphatidic acids leads to a range of self-assembling lysophospholipids. Our results provide new prebiotic routes to key intermediates on the way toward modern phospholipids and illuminate the potential origin and evolution of cell membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maiia Aleksandrova
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Fidan Rahmatova
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - David A. Russell
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Claudia Bonfio
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
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3
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Prasad M, Hazra B, Mandal R, Das S, Tarafdar PK. ATP-Assisted Protocellular Membrane Formation with Ethanolamine-Based Amphiphiles. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023. [PMID: 37421360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Prebiotic membranes are one of the essential elements of the origin of life because they build compartments to keep genetic materials and metabolic machinery safe. Since modern cell membranes are made up of ethanolamine-based phospholipids, prebiotic membrane formation with ethanolamine-based amphiphiles and phosphates might act as a bridge between the prebiotic and contemporary eras. Here, we report the prebiotic synthesis of O-lauroyl ethanolamine (OLEA), O-lauroyl methyl ethanolamine (OLMEA), and O-lauroyl dimethylethanolamine (OLDMEA) under wet-dry cycles. Turbidimetric, NMR, DLS, fluorescence, microscopy, and glucose encapsulation studies highlighted that OLEA-ATP and OLMEA-ATP form protocellular membranes in a 3:1 ratio, where ATP acts as a template. OLDMEA with a dimethyl group did not form any membrane in the presence of ATP. ADP can also template OLEA to form vesicles in a 2:1 ratio, but the ADP-templated vesicles were smaller. This suggests the critical role of the phosphate backbone in controlling the curvature of supramolecular assembly. The mechanisms of hierarchical assembly and transient dissipative assembly are discussed based on templated-complex formation via electrostatic, hydrophobic, and H-bonding interactions. Our results suggest that N-methylethanolamine-based amphiphiles could be used to form prebiotic vesicles, but the superior H-bonding ability of the ethanolamine moiety likely provides an evolutionary advantage for stable protocell formation during the fluctuating environments of early earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahesh Prasad
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Bibhas Hazra
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Raki Mandal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Subrata Das
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Pradip K Tarafdar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
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4
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Sepulveda RV, Sbarbaro C, Opazo MC, Duarte Y, González-Nilo F, Aguayo D. Insights into Early Steps of Decanoic Acid Self-Assemblies under Prebiotic Temperatures Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations. MEMBRANES 2023; 13:membranes13050469. [PMID: 37233530 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13050469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The origin of life possibly required processes in confined systems that facilitated simple chemical reactions and other more complex reactions impossible to achieve under the condition of infinite dilution. In this context, the self-assembly of micelles or vesicles derived from prebiotic amphiphilic molecules is a cornerstone in the chemical evolution pathway. A prime example of these building blocks is decanoic acid, a short-chain fatty acid capable of self-assembling under ambient conditions. This study explored a simplified system made of decanoic acids under temperatures ranging from 0 °C to 110 °C to replicate prebiotic conditions. The study revealed the first point of aggregation of decanoic acid into vesicles and examined the insertion of a prebiotic-like peptide in a primitive bilayer. The information gathered from this research provides critical insights into molecule interactions with primitive membranes, allowing us to understand the first nanometric compartments needed to trigger further reactions that were essential for the origin of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romina V Sepulveda
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile
| | - Christopher Sbarbaro
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile
| | - Ma Cecilia Opazo
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Universidad de Las Américas, Manuel Montt 948, Providencia 7500000, Chile
| | - Yorley Duarte
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile
| | - Fernando González-Nilo
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile
| | - Daniel Aguayo
- Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 330, Santiago 8370146, Chile
- Agricultura Digital, Servicio Agrícola, Salinas y Fabres S.A., Ruta 5 Sur, Parcela 165, Hijuela Larga, Paine 9540000, Chile
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5
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Namani T, Ruf RJ, Arsano I, Hu R, Wesdemiotis C, Sahai N. Novel Chimeric Amino Acid-Fatty Alcohol Ester Amphiphiles Self-Assemble into Stable Primitive Membranes in Diverse Geological Settings. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:327-343. [PMID: 36724479 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0056] [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: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Primitive cells are believed to have been self-assembled vesicular structures with minimal metabolic components, that were capable of self-maintenance and self-propagation in early Earth geological settings. The coevolution and self-assembly of biomolecules, such as amphiphiles, peptides, and nucleic acids, or their precursors, were essential for protocell emergence. Here, we present a novel class of amphiphiles-amino acid-fatty alcohol esters-that self-assemble into stable primitive membrane compartments under a wide range of geochemical conditions. Glycine n-octyl ester (GOE) and isoleucine n-octyl ester (IOE), the condensation ester products of glycine or isoleucine with octanol (OcOH), are expected to form at a mild temperature by wet-dry cycles. The GOE forms micelles in acidic aqueous solutions (pH 2-7) and vesicles at intermediate pH (pH 7.3-8.2). When mixed with cosurfactants (octanoic acid [OcA]; OcOH, or decanol) in different mole fractions [XCosurfactant = 0.1-0.5], the vesicle stability range expands significantly to span the extremely acidic to mildly alkaline (pH 2-8) and extremely alkaline (pH 10-11) regions. Only a small mole fraction of cosurfactant [XCosurfactant = 0.1] is needed to make stable vesicular structures. Notably, these GOE-based vesicles are also stable in the presence of high concentrations of divalent cations, even at low pHs and in simulated Hadean seawater composition (without sulfate). To better understand the self-assembly behavior of GOE-based systems, we devised complementary molecular dynamics computer simulations for a series of mixed GOE/OcA systems under simulated acidic pHs. The resulting calculated critical packing parameter values and self-assembly behavior were consistent with our experimental findings. The IOE is expected to show similar self-assembly behavior. Thus, amino acid-fatty alcohol esters, a novel chimeric amphiphile class composed of an amino acid head group and a fatty alcohol tail, may have aided in building protocell membranes, which were stable in a wide variety of geochemical circumstances and were conducive to supporting replication and self-maintenance. The present work contributes to our body of work supporting our hypothesis for synergism and coevolution of (proto)biomolecules on early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trishool Namani
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Reghan J Ruf
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Integrated Biosciences Program, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Iskinder Arsano
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Ruibo Hu
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Chrys Wesdemiotis
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Nita Sahai
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Integrated Biosciences Program, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Department of Geosciences, and University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
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6
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Hansma HG. DNA and the origins of life in micaceous clay. Biophys J 2022; 121:4867-4873. [PMID: 36130604 PMCID: PMC9808538 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.08.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Reproducible imaging of DNA by atomic force microscopy was a useful predecessor to Ned Seeman's DNA nanotechnology. Many of the products of DNA nanotechnology were imaged in the atomic force microscope. The mica substrate used in this atomic force microscopy research formed the inspiration for the hypothesis that micaceous clay was a likely habitat for the origins of life. Montmorillonite clay has been a successful substrate for the polymerization of amino acids and nucleotides into peptides and DNA oligomers in research on life's origins. Mica and montmorillonite have the same anionic lattice, with a hexagonal spacing of 0.5 nm. Micas are nonswelling clays, with potassium ions (K+) holding the crystal sheets together, providing a stable environment for the processes and molecular complexes needed for the emergence of living cells. Montmorillonite crystal sheets are held together by smaller sodium ions (Na+), which results in swelling and shrinking during wet-dry cycles, providing a less stable environment. Also, the cells in all types of living systems have high intracellular K+ concentrations, which makes mica a more likely habitat for the origins of life than montmorillonite. Finally, moving mica sheets provides mechanical energy at the split edges of the sheets in mica "books." This mechanical energy of mica sheets, moving open and shut, in response to fluid flow, may have preceded chemical energy at life's origins, powering early prebiotic processes, such as the formation of covalent bonds, the interactions of molecular complexes, and the budding off of protocells before the molecular mechanism of cell division had developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Greenwood Hansma
- Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.
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7
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Hazra B, Mondal A, Prasad M, Gayen S, Mandal R, Sardar A, Tarafdar PK. Lipidated Lysine and Fatty Acids Assemble into Protocellular Membranes to Assist Regioselective Peptide Formation: Correlation to the Natural Selection of Lysine over Nonproteinogenic Lower Analogues. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:15422-15432. [PMID: 36450098 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The self-assembly of prebiotically plausible amphiphiles (fatty acids) to form a bilayer membrane for compartmentalization is an important factor during protocellular evolution. Such fatty acid-based membranes assemble at relatively high concentrations, and they lack robust stability. We have demonstrated that a mixture of lipidated lysine (cationic) and prebiotic fatty acids (decanoic acid, anionic) can form protocellular membranes (amino acid-based membranes) at low concentrations via electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. The formation of vesicular membranes was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), pyrene and Nile Red partitioning, cryo-transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, and glucose encapsulation studies. The lipidated nonproteinogenic analogues of lysine (Lys), such as ornithine (Orn) and 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (Dab), also form membranes with decanoate (DA). Time-dependent turbidimetric and 1H NMR studies suggested that the Lys-based membrane is more stable than the membranes prepared from nonproteinogenic lower analogues. The Lys-based membrane embeds a model acylating agent (aminoacyl-tRNA mimic) and facilitates the colocalization of substrates to support regioselective peptide formation via the α-amine of Lys. These membranes thereby assist peptide formation and control the positioning of the reactants (model acylating agent and -NH2 of amino acids) to initiate biologically relevant reactions during early evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibhas Hazra
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Anoy Mondal
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Mahesh Prasad
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Soumajit Gayen
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Raki Mandal
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Avijit Sardar
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Pradip K Tarafdar
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia 741246, West Bengal, India
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8
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Lago I, Black L, Wilfinger M, Maurer SE. Synthesis and Characterization of Amino Acid Decyl Esters as Early Membranes for the Origins of Life. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:858. [PMID: 36135876 PMCID: PMC9502762 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12090858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how membrane forming amphiphiles are synthesized and aggregate in prebiotic settings is required for understanding the origins of life on Earth 4 billion years ago. Amino acids decyl esters were prepared by dehydration of decanol and amino acid as a model for a plausible prebiotic reaction at two temperatures. Fifteen amino acids were tested with a range of side chain chemistries to understand the role of amino acid identity on synthesis and membrane formation. Products were analyzed using LC-MS as well as microscopy. All amino acids tested produced decyl esters, and some of the products formed membranes when rehydrated in ultrapure water. One of the most abundant prebiotic amino acids, alanine, was remarkably easy to get to generate abundant, uniform membranes, indicating that this could be a selection mechanism for both amino acids and their amphiphilic derivatives.
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9
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Barge LM, Rodriguez LE, Weber JM, Theiling BP. Determining the "Biosignature Threshold" for Life Detection on Biotic, Abiotic, or Prebiotic Worlds. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:481-493. [PMID: 34898272 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The field of prebiotic chemistry has demonstrated that complex organic chemical systems that exhibit various life-like properties can be produced abiotically in the laboratory. Understanding these chemical systems is important for astrobiology and life detection since we do not know the extent to which prebiotic chemistry might exist or have existed on other worlds. Nor do we know what signatures are diagnostic of an extant or "failed" prebiotic system. On Earth, biology has suppressed most abiotic organic chemistry and overprints geologic records of prebiotic chemistry; therefore, it is difficult to validate whether chemical signatures from future planetary missions are remnant or extant prebiotic systems. The "biosignature threshold" between whether a chemical signature is more likely to be produced by abiotic versus biotic chemistry on a given world could vary significantly, depending on the particular environment, and could change over time, especially if life were to emerge and diversify on that world. To interpret organic signatures detected during a planetary mission, we advocate for (1) gaining a more complete understanding of prebiotic/abiotic chemical possibilities in diverse planetary environments and (2) involving experimental prebiotic samples as analogues when generating comparison libraries for "life-detection" mission instruments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Laura E Rodriguez
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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10
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Li L, Fang Y, Xia Y, Bo C, Fan Y. Monosaccharides driving the formation of conjugated linoleic acid vesicles in near-neutral solutions via weak noncovalent bonding interactions. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.118656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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11
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Ranjan S, Kufner CL, Lozano GG, Todd ZR, Haseki A, Sasselov DD. UV Transmission in Natural Waters on Prebiotic Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:242-262. [PMID: 34939825 PMCID: PMC8968845 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) light plays a key role in surficial theories of the origin of life, and numerous studies have focused on constraining the atmospheric transmission of UV radiation on early Earth. However, the UV transmission of the natural waters in which origins-of-life chemistry (prebiotic chemistry) is postulated to have occurred is poorly constrained. In this work, we combine laboratory and literature-derived absorption spectra of potential aqueous-phase prebiotic UV absorbers with literature estimates of their concentrations on early Earth to constrain the prebiotic UV environment in marine and terrestrial natural waters, and we consider the implications for prebiotic chemistry. We find that prebiotic freshwaters were largely transparent in the UV, contrary to assumptions in some models of prebiotic chemistry. Some waters, such as high-salinity waters like carbonate lakes, may be deficient in shortwave (≤220 nm) UV flux. More dramatically, ferrous waters can be strongly UV-shielded, particularly if the Fe2+ forms highly UV-absorbent species such as FeCN64-. Such waters may be compelling venues for UV-averse origin-of-life scenarios but are unfavorable for some UV-dependent prebiotic chemistries. UV light can trigger photochemistry even if attenuated through photochemical transformations of the absorber (e.g., eaq- production from halide irradiation), which may have both constructive and destructive effects for prebiotic syntheses. Prebiotic chemistries that invoke waters that contain such absorbers must self-consistently account for the chemical effects of these transformations. The speciation and abundance of Fe2+ in natural waters on early Earth is a major uncertainty and should be prioritized for further investigation, as it played a major role in UV transmission in prebiotic natural waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukrit Ranjan
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Address correspondence to: Sukrit Ranjan, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University, 1800 Sherman Avenue, 6th Floor, Evanston, IL 60601, USA
| | - Corinna L. Kufner
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Zoe R. Todd
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Azra Haseki
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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12
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Hansma HG. Potassium at the Origins of Life: Did Biology Emerge from Biotite in Micaceous Clay? Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12020301. [PMID: 35207588 PMCID: PMC8880093 DOI: 10.3390/life12020301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Intracellular potassium concentrations, [K+], are high in all types of living cells, but the origins of this K+ are unknown. The simplest hypothesis is that life emerged in an environment that was high in K+. One such environment is the spaces between the sheets of the clay mineral mica. The best mica for life’s origins is the black mica, biotite, because it has a high content of Mg++ and because it has iron in various oxidation states. Life also has many of the characteristics of the environment between mica sheets, giving further support for the possibility that mica was the substrate on and within which life emerged. Here, a scenario for life’s origins is presented, in which the necessary processes and components for life arise in niches between mica sheets; vesicle membranes encapsulate these processes and components; the resulting vesicles fuse, forming protocells; and eventually, all of the necessary components and processes are encapsulated within individual cells, some of which survive to seed the early Earth with life. This paper presents three new foci for the hypothesis of life’s origins between mica sheets: (1) that potassium is essential for life’s origins on Earth; (2) that biotite mica has advantages over muscovite mica; and (3) that micaceous clay is a better environment than isolated mica for life’s origins.
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13
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Steller LH, Van Kranendonk MJ, Wang A. Dehydration Enhances Prebiotic Lipid Remodeling and Vesicle Formation in Acidic Environments. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2022; 8:132-139. [PMID: 35106379 PMCID: PMC8796310 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c01365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The encapsulation of genetic polymers inside lipid bilayer compartments (vesicles) is a vital step in the emergence of cell-based life. However, even though acidic conditions promote many reactions required for generating prebiotic building blocks, prebiotically relevant lipids tend to form denser aggregates at acidic pHs rather than prebiotically useful vesicles that exhibit sufficient solute encapsulation. Here, we describe how dehydration/rehydration (DR) events, a prebiotically relevant physicochemical process known to promote polymerization reactions, can remodel dense lipid aggregates into thin-walled vesicles capable of RNA encapsulation even at acidic pHs. Furthermore, DR events appear to favor the encapsulation of RNA within thin-walled vesicles over more lipid-rich vesicles, thus conferring such vesicles a selective advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke H. Steller
- School
of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal
Country, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- Australian
Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal Country, New South
Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Martin J. Van Kranendonk
- School
of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal
Country, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- Australian
Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal Country, New South
Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Anna Wang
- School
of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal Country, New South
Wales 2052, Australia
- Australian
Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Bedegal Country, New South
Wales 2052, Australia
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14
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Cohen ZR, Cornell CE, Catling DC, Black RA, Keller SL. Prebiotic Protocell Membranes Retain Encapsulated Contents during Flocculation, and Phospholipids Preserve Encapsulation during Dehydration. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:1304-1310. [PMID: 35026114 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The first cell membranes were likely composed of single-chain amphiphiles such as fatty acids. An open question is whether fatty acid membranes could have functioned within evaporative lakes on the early Earth, which have been hypothesized to concentrate prebiotic reactants. Evaporation also concentrates monovalent salts, which in turn cause fatty acid membrane vesicles to flocculate; significant loss of encapsulated contents during flocculation would have impeded early cell evolution. Here, we tested whether fatty acid vesicles retain encapsulated contents after flocculation and after drying. We found that vesicles composed of 2:1 decanoic acid:decanol encapsulate calcein dye throughout a process of flocculation in saturated salt solution and subsequent disaggregation of vesicles by dilution of the salt. However, 30 minutes of complete dehydration disrupted encapsulation by fatty acid vesicles. In contrast, phospholipid vesicles maintained encapsulation. Our results reveal a selective pressure for protocells to incorporate phospholipids: while fatty acid membranes can retain encapsulated contents during periods of dilute and saturating salt, phospholipids are necessary for encapsulation during dry periods. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that evaporative lakes were productive sites for prebiotic chemistry and the origin of cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary R Cohen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Caitlin E Cornell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - David C Catling
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Roy A Black
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Sarah L Keller
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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15
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Joshi MP, Steller L, Van Kranendonk MJ, Rajamani S. Influence of Metal Ions on Model Protoamphiphilic Vesicular Systems: Insights from Laboratory and Analogue Studies. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11121413. [PMID: 34947944 PMCID: PMC8708898 DOI: 10.3390/life11121413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Metal ions strongly affect the self-assembly and stability of membranes composed of prebiotically relevant amphiphiles (protoamphiphiles). Therefore, evaluating the behavior of such amphiphiles in the presence of ions is a crucial step towards assessing their potential as model protocell compartments. We have recently reported vesicle formation by N-acyl amino acids (NAAs), an interesting class of protoamphiphiles containing an amino acid linked to a fatty acid via an amide linkage. Herein, we explore the effect of ions on the self-assembly and stability of model N-oleoyl glycine (NOG)-based membranes. Microscopic analysis showed that the blended membranes of NOG and Glycerol 1-monooleate (GMO) were more stable than pure NOG vesicles, both in the presence of monovalent and divalent cations, with the overall vesicle stability being 100-fold higher in the presence of a monovalent cation. Furthermore, both pure NOG and NOG + GMO mixed systems were able to self-assemble into vesicles in natural water samples containing multiple ions that were collected from active hot spring sites. Our study reveals that several aspects of the metal ion stability of NAA-based membranes are comparable to those of fatty acid-based systems, while also confirming the robustness of compositionally heterogeneous membranes towards high metal ion concentrations. Pertinently, the vesicle formation by NAA-based systems in terrestrial hot spring samples indicates the conduciveness of these low ionic strength freshwater systems for facilitating prebiotic membrane-assembly processes. This further highlights their potential to serve as a plausible niche for the emergence of cellular life on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manesh Prakash Joshi
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
- Correspondence: (M.P.J.); (S.R.); Tel.: +91-20-2590-8061 (S.R.)
| | - Luke Steller
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia; (L.S.); (M.J.V.K.)
| | - Martin J. Van Kranendonk
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia; (L.S.); (M.J.V.K.)
| | - Sudha Rajamani
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
- Correspondence: (M.P.J.); (S.R.); Tel.: +91-20-2590-8061 (S.R.)
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16
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Rubio-Sánchez R, O'Flaherty DK, Wang A, Coscia F, Petris G, Di Michele L, Cicuta P, Bonfio C. Thermally Driven Membrane Phase Transitions Enable Content Reshuffling in Primitive Cells. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:16589-16598. [PMID: 34597506 PMCID: PMC8607435 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c06595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Self-assembling single-chain amphiphiles
available in the prebiotic
environment likely played a fundamental role in the advent of primitive
cell cycles. However, the instability of prebiotic fatty acid-based
membranes to temperature and pH seems to suggest that primitive cells
could only host prebiotically relevant processes in a narrow range
of nonfluctuating environmental conditions. Here we propose that membrane
phase transitions, driven by environmental fluctuations, enabled the
generation of daughter protocells with reshuffled content. A reversible
membrane-to-oil phase transition accounts for the dissolution of fatty
acid-based vesicles at high temperatures and the concomitant release
of protocellular content. At low temperatures, fatty acid bilayers
reassemble and encapsulate reshuffled material in a new cohort of
protocells. Notably, we find that our disassembly/reassembly cycle
drives the emergence of functional RNA-containing primitive cells
from parent nonfunctional compartments. Thus, by exploiting the intrinsic
instability of prebiotic fatty acid vesicles, our results point at
an environmentally driven tunable prebiotic process, which supports
the release and reshuffling of oligonucleotides and membrane components,
potentially leading to a new generation of protocells with superior
traits. In the absence of protocellular transport machinery, the environmentally
driven disassembly/assembly cycle proposed herein would have plausibly
supported protocellular content reshuffling transmitted to primitive
cell progeny, hinting at a potential mechanism important to initiate
Darwinian evolution of early life forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Rubio-Sánchez
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K
| | - Derek K O'Flaherty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, Guelph ON N1G 1Y4, Canada
| | - Anna Wang
- School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Francesca Coscia
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.,Fondazione Human Technopole, Structural Biology Research Centre, Milan 20157, Italy
| | - Gianluca Petris
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K
| | - Lorenzo Di Michele
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.,Department of Chemistry and fabriCELL, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Pietro Cicuta
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K
| | - Claudia Bonfio
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.,Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K
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17
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Abstract
A major goal of synthetic biology is to understand the transition between non-living matter and life. The bottom-up development of an artificial cell would provide a minimal system with which to study the border between chemistry and biology. So far, a fully synthetic cell has remained elusive, but chemists are progressing towards this goal by reconstructing cellular subsystems. Cell boundaries, likely in the form of lipid membranes, were necessary for the emergence of life. In addition to providing a protective barrier between cellular cargo and the external environment, lipid compartments maintain homeostasis with other subsystems to regulate cellular processes. In this Review, we examine different chemical approaches to making cell-mimetic compartments. Synthetic strategies to drive membrane formation and function, including bioorthogonal ligations, dissipative self-assembly and reconstitution of biochemical pathways, are discussed. Chemical strategies aim to recreate the interactions between lipid membranes, the external environment and internal biomolecules, and will clarify our understanding of life at the interface of chemistry and biology.
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18
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Blijdorp CJ, Tutakhel OAZ, Hartjes TA, van den Bosch TPP, van Heugten MH, Rigalli JP, Willemsen R, Musterd-Bhaggoe UM, Barros ER, Carles-Fontana R, Carvajal CA, Arntz OJ, van de Loo FAJ, Jenster G, Clahsen-van Groningen MC, Cuevas CA, Severs D, Fenton RA, van Royen ME, Hoenderop JGJ, Bindels RJM, Hoorn EJ. Comparing Approaches to Normalize, Quantify, and Characterize Urinary Extracellular Vesicles. J Am Soc Nephrol 2021; 32:1210-1226. [PMID: 33782168 PMCID: PMC8259679 DOI: 10.1681/asn.2020081142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Urinary extracellular vesicles (uEVs) are a promising source for biomarker discovery, but optimal approaches for normalization, quantification, and characterization in spot urines are unclear. METHODS Urine samples were analyzed in a water-loading study, from healthy subjects and patients with kidney disease. Urine particles were quantified in whole urine using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TR-FIA), and EVQuant, a novel method quantifying particles via gel immobilization. RESULTS Urine particle and creatinine concentrations were highly correlated in the water-loading study (R2 0.96) and in random spot urines from healthy subjects (R2 0.47-0.95) and patients (R2 0.41-0.81). Water loading reduced aquaporin-2 but increased Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) and particle detection by NTA. This finding was attributed to hypotonicity increasing uEV size (more EVs reach the NTA size detection limit) and reducing THP polymerization. Adding THP to urine also significantly increased particle count by NTA. In both fluorescence NTA and EVQuant, adding 0.01% SDS maintained uEV integrity and increased aquaporin-2 detection. Comparison of intracellular- and extracellular-epitope antibodies suggested the presence of reverse topology uEVs. The exosome markers CD9 and CD63 colocalized and immunoprecipitated selectively with distal nephron markers. Conclusions uEV concentration is highly correlated with urine creatinine, potentially replacing the need for uEV quantification to normalize spot urines. Additional findings relevant for future uEV studies in whole urine include the interference of THP with NTA, excretion of larger uEVs in dilute urine, the ability to use detergent to increase intracellular-epitope recognition in uEVs, and CD9 or CD63 capture of nephron segment-specific EVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles J. Blijdorp
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Omar A. Z. Tutakhel
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,Department of Translational Metabolic Laboratory, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas A. Hartjes
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Thierry P. P. van den Bosch
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn H. van Heugten
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Juan Pablo Rigalli
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rob Willemsen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Usha M. Musterd-Bhaggoe
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eric R. Barros
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Roger Carles-Fontana
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,Institute of Hepatology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cristian A. Carvajal
- Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Onno J. Arntz
- Department of Experimental Rheumatology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Fons A. J. van de Loo
- Department of Experimental Rheumatology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Guido Jenster
- Department of Urology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cathy A. Cuevas
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - David Severs
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert A. Fenton
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Martin E. van Royen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joost G. J. Hoenderop
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - René J. M. Bindels
- Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ewout J. Hoorn
- Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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19
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Toparlak ÖD, Karki M, Egas Ortuno V, Krishnamurthy R, Mansy SS. Cyclophospholipids Increase Protocellular Stability to Metal Ions. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1903381. [PMID: 31523894 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Model protocells have long been constructed with fatty acids, because these lipids are prebiotically plausible and can, at least theoretically, support a protocell life cycle. However, fatty acid protocells are stable only within a narrow range of pH and metal ion concentration. This instability is particularly problematic as the early Earth would have had a range of conditions, and extant life is completely reliant on metal ions for catalysis and the folding and activity of biological polymers. Here, prebiotically plausible monoacyl cyclophospholipids are shown to form robust vesicles that survive a broad range of pH and high concentrations of Mg2+ , Ca2+ , and Na+ . Importantly, stability to Mg2+ and Ca2+ is improved by the presence of environmental concentrations of Na+ . These results suggest that cyclophospholipids, or lipids with similar characteristics, may have played a central role during the emergence of Darwinian evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ö Duhan Toparlak
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123, Povo, Italy
| | - Megha Karki
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Veronica Egas Ortuno
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Sheref S Mansy
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123, Povo, Italy
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20
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Jordan SF, Nee E, Lane N. Isoprenoids enhance the stability of fatty acid membranes at the emergence of life potentially leading to an early lipid divide. Interface Focus 2019; 9:20190067. [PMID: 31641436 PMCID: PMC6802135 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2019.0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Two key problems concern cell membranes during the emergence and early evolution of life: what was their initial composition, and why did the membranes of archaea and bacteria diverge? The composition of the first cell membranes could shed light on the most likely environment for the emergence of life. The opposing stereochemistry of modern lipid glycerol-phosphate headgroups in bacteria and archaea suggests that early membranes were composed of single chain amphiphiles, perhaps both fatty acids and isoprenoids. We investigated the effect of adding isoprenoids to fatty acid membranes using a combination of UV-visible spectroscopy, confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We tested the stability of these membranes across a pH range and under different concentrations of ionic species relevant to oceanic hydrothermal environments, including Na2+, Cl-, Mg2+, Ca2+, HC O 3 - , Fe3+, Fe2+ and S2-. We also tested the assembly of vesicles in the presence of Fe particles and FeS precipitates. We found that isoprenoids enhance the stability of membranes in the presence of salts but require 30-fold higher concentrations for membrane formation. Intriguingly, isoprenoids strongly inhibit the tendency of vesicles to aggregate together in the presence of either Fe particles or FeS precipitates. These striking physical differences in the stability and aggregation of protocells may have shaped the divergence of bacteria and archaea in early hydrothermal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean F. Jordan
- Centre for Life's Origin and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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21
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Promotion of protocell self-assembly from mixed amphiphiles at the origin of life. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1705-1714. [PMID: 31686020 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1015-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Vesicles formed from single-chain amphiphiles (SCAs) such as fatty acids probably played an important role in the origin of life. A major criticism of the hypothesis that life arose in an early ocean hydrothermal environment is that hot temperatures, large pH gradients, high salinity and abundant divalent cations should preclude vesicle formation. However, these arguments are based on model vesicles using 1-3 SCAs, even though Fischer-Tropsch-type synthesis under hydrothermal conditions produces a wide array of fatty acids and 1-alkanols, including abundant C10-C15 compounds. Here, we show that mixtures of these C10-C15 SCAs form vesicles in aqueous solutions between pH ~6.5 and >12 at modern seawater concentrations of NaCl, Mg2+ and Ca2+. Adding C10 isoprenoids improves vesicle stability even further. Vesicles form most readily at temperatures of ~70 °C and require salinity and strongly alkaline conditions to self-assemble. Thus, alkaline hydrothermal conditions not only permit protocell formation at the origin of life but actively favour it.
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22
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Bonfio C, Caumes C, Duffy CD, Patel BH, Percivalle C, Tsanakopoulou M, Sutherland JD. Length-Selective Synthesis of Acylglycerol-Phosphates through Energy-Dissipative Cycling. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:3934-3939. [PMID: 30767518 PMCID: PMC6506141 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b12331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
![]()
The main aim of origins
of life research is to find a plausible
sequence of transitions from prebiotic chemistry to nascent biology.
In this context, understanding how and when phospholipid membranes
appeared on early Earth is critical to elucidating the prebiotic pathways
that led to the emergence of primitive cells. Here we show that exposing
glycerol-2-phosphate to acylating agents leads to the formation of
a library of acylglycerol-phosphates. Medium-chain acylglycerol-phosphates
were found to self-assemble into vesicles stable across a wide range
of conditions and capable of retaining mono- and oligonucleotides.
Starting with a mixture of activated carboxylic acids of different
lengths, iterative cycling of acylation and hydrolysis steps allowed
for the selection of longer-chain acylglycerol-phosphates. Our results
suggest that a selection pathway based on energy-dissipative cycling
could have driven the selective synthesis of phospholipids on early
Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Bonfio
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - Cécile Caumes
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - Colm D Duffy
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - Bhavesh H Patel
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Percivalle
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - Maria Tsanakopoulou
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
| | - John D Sutherland
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology , Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue , Cambridge CB2 0QH , United Kingdom
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23
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Guo J, Poros-Tarcali E, Perez-Mercader J. Evolving polymersomes autonomously generated in and regulated by a semibatch pH oscillator. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:9383-9386. [PMID: 31318365 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc03486b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
pH-O-PISA: a semibatch pH oscillator drives polymerization by generating radicals periodically while simultaneously regulating the evolution of the self-assembled polymersomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinshan Guo
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science and Origin of Life Initiative
- Harvard University
- Cambridge
- USA
| | - Eszter Poros-Tarcali
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science and Origin of Life Initiative
- Harvard University
- Cambridge
- USA
| | - Juan Perez-Mercader
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science and Origin of Life Initiative
- Harvard University
- Cambridge
- USA
- Santa Fe Institute
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24
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Maurer SE, Tølbøl Sørensen K, Iqbal Z, Nicholas J, Quirion K, Gioia M, Monnard PA, Hanczyc MM. Vesicle Self-Assembly of Monoalkyl Amphiphiles under the Effects of High Ionic Strength, Extreme pH, and High Temperature Environments. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:15560-15568. [PMID: 30407827 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Vesicles and other bilayered membranous structures can self-assemble from single hydrocarbon chain amphiphiles. Their formation and stability are highly dependent on experimental conditions such as ionic strength, pH, and temperature. The addition of divalent cations, for example, often results in the disruption of vesicles made of a single fatty acid species through amphiphile precipitation. However, membranes composed of amphiphile mixtures have been shown to be more resistant to low millimolar concentrations of divalent cations at room temperature. In this report, several mixtures of amphiphiles are examined for their propensity to self-assemble into membranous vesicular structures under extreme environmental conditions of low pH, high ionic strengths, and temperatures. In particular, mixtures of decylamine with polar cosurfactants were found to efficiently form membranes under these conditions far away from those normally supporting vesicle formation. We further examined decanoic acid/decylamine mixtures in detail. At pH 2 in low ionic strength solutions, the amphiphiles formed oily or crystalline structures; however, the introduction of salts or/and strong acids in conjunction with high temperature induced a stable vesiculation. Thus, extreme environments, such as volcanic or vent environments whose environmental conditions are known to support high chemical reactivity, could have harbored and most significantly promoted the formation of simple organic compartments that preceded cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Central Connecticut State University , New Britain , Connecticut 06053 , United States
| | | | - Zaki Iqbal
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Central Connecticut State University , New Britain , Connecticut 06053 , United States
| | - Jacqueline Nicholas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Central Connecticut State University , New Britain , Connecticut 06053 , United States
| | - Kevin Quirion
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Central Connecticut State University , New Britain , Connecticut 06053 , United States
| | - Michael Gioia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , Central Connecticut State University , New Britain , Connecticut 06053 , United States
| | | | - Martin M Hanczyc
- Laboratory for Artificial Biology, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO) , Università degli Studi di Trento , Via Sommarive, 9 , Trento 38122 , Italy
- Chemical and Biological Engineering , University of New Mexico , Albuquerque , New Mexico 87131 , United States
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25
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Ranjan S, Todd ZR, Sutherland JD, Sasselov DD. Sulfidic Anion Concentrations on Early Earth for Surficial Origins-of-Life Chemistry. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1023-1040. [PMID: 29627997 PMCID: PMC6225604 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
A key challenge in origin-of-life studies is understanding the environmental conditions on early Earth under which abiogenesis occurred. While some constraints do exist (e.g., zircon evidence for surface liquid water), relatively few constraints exist on the abundances of trace chemical species, which are relevant to assessing the plausibility and guiding the development of postulated prebiotic chemical pathways which depend on these species. In this work, we combine literature photochemistry models with simple equilibrium chemistry calculations to place constraints on the plausible range of concentrations of sulfidic anions (HS-, HSO3-, SO32-) available in surficial aquatic reservoirs on early Earth due to outgassing of SO2 and H2S and their dissolution into small shallow surface water reservoirs like lakes. We find that this mechanism could have supplied prebiotically relevant levels of SO2-derived anions, but not H2S-derived anions. Radiative transfer modeling suggests UV light would have remained abundant on the planet surface for all but the largest volcanic explosions. We apply our results to the case study of the proposed prebiotic reaction network of Patel et al. ( 2015 ) and discuss the implications for improving its prebiotic plausibility. In general, epochs of moderately high volcanism could have been especially conducive to cyanosulfidic prebiotic chemistry. Our work can be similarly applied to assess and improve the prebiotic plausibility of other postulated surficial prebiotic chemistries that are sensitive to sulfidic anions, and our methods adapted to study other atmospherically derived trace species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukrit Ranjan
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Zoe R. Todd
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Milshteyn D, Damer B, Havig J, Deamer D. Amphiphilic Compounds Assemble into Membranous Vesicles in Hydrothermal Hot Spring Water but Not in Seawater. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8020011. [PMID: 29748464 PMCID: PMC6027054 DOI: 10.3390/life8020011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Revised: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a general assumption that amphiphilic compounds, such as fatty acids, readily form membranous vesicles when dispersed in aqueous phases. However, from earlier studies, it is known that vesicle stability depends strongly on pH, temperature, chain length, ionic concentration and the presence or absence of divalent cations. To test how robust simple amphiphilic compounds are in terms of their ability to assemble into stable vesicles, we chose to study 10- and 12-carbon monocarboxylic acids and a mixture of the latter with its monoglyceride. These were dispersed in hydrothermal water samples drawn directly from hot springs in Yellowstone National Park at two pH ranges, and the results were compared with sea water under the same conditions. We found that the pure acids could form membranous vesicles in hydrothermal pool water, but that a mixture of dodecanoic acid and glycerol monododecanoate was less temperature-sensitive and assembled into relatively stable membranes at both acidic and alkaline pH ranges. Furthermore, the vesicles were able to encapsulate nucleic acids and pyranine, a fluorescent anionic dye. None of the amphiphiles that were tested formed stable vesicles in sea water because the high ionic concentrations disrupted membrane stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Milshteyn
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa, Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
| | - Bruce Damer
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa, Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
| | - Jeff Havig
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - David Deamer
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa, Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
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Maurer S. The Impact of Salts on Single Chain Amphiphile Membranes and Implications for the Location of the Origin of Life. Life (Basel) 2017; 7:life7040044. [PMID: 29135960 PMCID: PMC5745557 DOI: 10.3390/life7040044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the key steps in the origins of life was the formation of a membrane to separate protocells from their environment. These membranes are proposed to have been formed out of single chain amphiphiles, which are less stable than the dialkyl lipids used to form modern membranes. This lack of stability, specifically for decanoate, is often used to refute ocean locations for the origins of life. This review addresses the formation of membranes in hydrothermal-vent like conditions, as well as other environmental constraints. Specifically, single chain amphiphiles can form membranes at high sea salt concentrations (150 g/L), high temperatures (65 °C), and a wide pH range (2 to 10). It additionally discusses the major challenges and advantages of membrane formation in both ocean and fresh water locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley St., New Britain, CT 06050, USA.
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