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Gull M, Feng T, Smith B, Calcul L, Pasek MA. Prebiotic Syntheses of Organophosphorus Compounds from Reduced Source of Phosphorus in Non-Aqueous Solvents. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:2134. [PMID: 38004274 PMCID: PMC10672063 DOI: 10.3390/life13112134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Reduced-oxidation-state phosphorus (reduced P, hereafter) compounds were likely available on the early Earth via meteorites or through various geologic processes. Due to their reactivity and high solubility, these compounds could have played a significant role in the origin of various organophosphorus compounds of biochemical significance. In the present work, we study the reactions between reduced P compounds and their oxidation products, with the three nucleosides (uridine, adenosine, and cytidine), with organic alcohols (glycerol and ethanolamine), and with the tertiary ammonium organic compound, choline chloride. These reactions were studied in the non-aqueous solvent formamide and in a semi-aqueous solvent comprised of urea: ammonium formate: water (UAFW, hereafter) at temperatures of 55-68 °C. The inorganic P compounds generated through Fenton chemistry readily dissolve in the non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and react with organics to form organophosphites and organophosphates, including those which are identified as phosphate diesters. This dual approach (1) use of non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and (2) use of a reactive inorganic P source to promote phosphorylation and phosphonylation reactions of organics readily promoted anhydrous chemistry and condensation reactions, without requiring any additive, catalyst, or other promoting agent under mild heating conditions. We also present a comparative study of the release of P from various prebiotically relevant phosphate minerals and phosphite salts (e.g., vivianite, apatite, and phosphites of iron and calcium) into formamide and UAFW. These results have direct implications for the origin of biological P compounds from non-aqueous solvents of prebiotic provenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maheen Gull
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. NES 204, Tampa, FL 33584, USA; (T.F.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Tian Feng
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. NES 204, Tampa, FL 33584, USA; (T.F.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Benjamin Smith
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. CHE 205, Tampa, FL 33620, USA; (L.C.); (B.S.)
| | - Laurent Calcul
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. CHE 205, Tampa, FL 33620, USA; (L.C.); (B.S.)
| | - Matthew A. Pasek
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. NES 204, Tampa, FL 33584, USA; (T.F.); (M.A.P.)
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Pinna S, Kunz C, Halpern A, Harrison SA, Jordan SF, Ward J, Werner F, Lane N. A prebiotic basis for ATP as the universal energy currency. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001437. [PMID: 36194581 PMCID: PMC9531788 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
ATP is universally conserved as the principal energy currency in cells, driving metabolism through phosphorylation and condensation reactions. Such deep conservation suggests that ATP arose at an early stage of biochemical evolution. Yet purine synthesis requires 6 phosphorylation steps linked to ATP hydrolysis. This autocatalytic requirement for ATP to synthesize ATP implies the need for an earlier prebiotic ATP equivalent, which could drive protometabolism before purine synthesis. Why this early phosphorylating agent was replaced, and specifically with ATP rather than other nucleoside triphosphates, remains a mystery. Here, we show that the deep conservation of ATP might reflect its prebiotic chemistry in relation to another universally conserved intermediate, acetyl phosphate (AcP), which bridges between thioester and phosphate metabolism by linking acetyl CoA to the substrate-level phosphorylation of ADP. We confirm earlier results showing that AcP can phosphorylate ADP to ATP at nearly 20% yield in water in the presence of Fe3+ ions. We then show that Fe3+ and AcP are surprisingly favoured. A wide range of prebiotically relevant ions and minerals failed to catalyse ADP phosphorylation. From a panel of prebiotic phosphorylating agents, only AcP, and to a lesser extent carbamoyl phosphate, showed any significant phosphorylating potential. Critically, AcP did not phosphorylate any other nucleoside diphosphate. We use these data, reaction kinetics, and molecular dynamic simulations to infer a possible mechanism. Our findings might suggest that the reason ATP is universally conserved across life is that its formation is chemically favoured in aqueous solution under mild prebiotic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Pinna
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cäcilia Kunz
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aaron Halpern
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stuart A. Harrison
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sean F. Jordan
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - John Ward
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Finn Werner
- Institute for Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nick Lane
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution (CLOE), Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building, London, United Kingdom
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Zhai F, Xin T, Geeson MB, Cummins CC. Sustainable Production of Reduced Phosphorus Compounds: Mechanochemical Hydride Phosphorylation Using Condensed Phosphates as a Route to Phosphite. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2022; 8:332-339. [PMID: 35350608 PMCID: PMC8949633 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c01381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In pursuit of a more sustainable production of phosphorous acid (H3PO3), a versatile chemical with phosphorus in the +3 oxidation state, we herein report that condensed phosphates can be employed to phosphorylate hydride reagents under solvent-free mechanochemical conditions to furnish phosphite (HPO3 2-). Using potassium hydride as the hydride source, sodium trimetaphosphate (Na3P3O9), triphosphate (Na5P3O10), pyrophosphate (Na4P2O7), fluorophosphate (Na2PO3F), and polyphosphate ("(NaPO3) n ") engendered phosphite in optimized yields of 44, 58, 44, 84, and 55% based on total P content, respectively. Formation of overreduced products including hypophosphite (H2PO2 -) was identified as a competing process, and mechanistic investigations revealed that hydride attack on in-situ-generated phosphorylated phosphite species is a potent pathway for overreduction. The phosphite generated from our method was easily isolated in the form of barium phosphite, a useful intermediate for production of phosphorous acid. This method circumvents the need to pass through white phosphorus (P4) as a high-energy intermediate and mitigates involvement of environmentally hazardous chemicals. A bioproduced polyphosphate was found to be a viable starting material for the production of phosphite. These results demonstrate the possibility of accessing reduced phosphorus compounds in a more sustainable manner and, more importantly, a means to close the modern phosphorus cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Zhai
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Tiansi Xin
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Michael B. Geeson
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Christopher C. Cummins
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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Oxidative Phosphorus Chemistry Perturbed by Minerals. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12020198. [PMID: 35207486 PMCID: PMC8878404 DOI: 10.3390/life12020198] [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: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Life is a complex, open chemical system that must be supported with energy inputs. If one fathoms how simple early life must have been, the complexity of modern-day life is staggering by comparison. A minimally complex system that could plausibly provide pyrophosphates for early life could be the oxidation of reduced phosphorus sources such as hypophosphite and phosphite. Like all plausible prebiotic chemistries, this system would have been altered by minerals and rocks in close contact with the evolving solutions. This study addresses the different types of perturbations that minerals might have on this chemical system. This study finds that minerals may inhibit the total production of oxidized phosphorus from reduced phosphorus species, they may facilitate the production of phosphate, or they may facilitate the production of pyrophosphate. This study concludes with the idea that mineral perturbations from the environment increase the chemical complexity of this system.
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Gull M, Omran A, Feng T, Pasek MA. Silicate-, Magnesium Ion-, and Urea-Induced Prebiotic Phosphorylation of Uridine via Pyrophosphate; Revisiting the Hot Drying Water Pool Scenario. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10080122. [PMID: 32722517 PMCID: PMC7459484 DOI: 10.3390/life10080122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The availability of nucleotides on the early Earth is of great significance for the origin of a self-replicating system capable of undergoing evolution. We hereby report the successful phosphorylation reactions of the nucleoside uridine under heating in the "drying pool" prebiotic model at temperatures ranging from 60-75 °C, and by using pyrophosphate as a phosphorylation agent. Uridine monophosphates (UMP) such as uridine-5'-monophosphate (5'-UMP), 2'-UMP, and 3'-UMP, as well as cyclic 2'-3'-UMP, were identified by 31P-NMR. In addition to the above-mentioned products, a dimer of uridine-phosphate-uridine (U-P-U) was also observed. The reactions were promoted by white quartz sand, Mg2+, and by using urea as a condensation agent. The reactions also proceeded without this mixture; however, the yields increased remarkably with the presence of the above-mentioned materials. The results suggest that a hot/evaporating-drying pool of water containing organics, salts, and reactive phosphorus could be sufficient to form significant phosphate esters.
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Seio K, Shiozawa T, Sugiyama D, Ohno K, Tomori T, Masaki Y. 31P NMR Study on the Reactions of Amino Acids and Sugar Derivatives with Pyrophosphorous Acid as a Possible Prebiotic Phosphonylating Agent. BULLETIN OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN 2019. [DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.20180392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kohji Seio
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Takashi Shiozawa
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Daiki Sugiyama
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Kentaro Ohno
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Takahito Tomori
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Yoshiaki Masaki
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
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How Prebiotic Chemistry and Early Life Chose Phosphate. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:life9010026. [PMID: 30832398 PMCID: PMC6462974 DOI: 10.3390/life9010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The very specific thermodynamic instability and kinetic stability of phosphate esters and anhydrides impart them invaluable properties in living organisms in which highly efficient enzyme catalysts compensate for their low intrinsic reactivity. Considering their role in protein biosynthesis, these properties raise a paradox about early stages: How could these species be selected in the absence of enzymes? This review is aimed at demonstrating that considering mixed anhydrides or other species more reactive than esters and anhydrides can help in solving the paradox. The consequences of this approach for chemical evolution and early stages of life are analysed.
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Chemical Transformations in Proto-Cytoplasmic Media. Phosphorus Coupling in the Silica Hydrogel Phase. Life (Basel) 2017; 7:life7040045. [PMID: 29156594 PMCID: PMC5745558 DOI: 10.3390/life7040045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that prebiotic chemical studies on the emergence of primitive life would be most relevant when performed in a hydrogel, rather than an aqueous, environment. In this paper we describe the ambient temperature coupling of phosphorus oxyacids [Pi] mediated by Fe(II) under aerobic conditions within a silica hydrogel (SHG) environment. We have chosen to examine SHGs as they have considerable geological precedence as key phases in silicification en route to rock formation. Following a description of the preparation and characterization studies on our SHG formulations, coupling experiments between Pi species are described across multiple permutations of (i) Pi compound; (ii) gel formulation; (iii) metal salt additive; and (iv) pH-modifying agent. The results suggest that successful Pi coupling, indicated by observation of pyrophosphate [PPi(V)] via 31P-NMR spectroscopy, takes place when the following components are present: (i) a mixture of mixture of Pi(III) and Pi(V) or pure PPi(III– V); (ii) Fe(II); (iii) acetic or formic acid (not hydrochloric acid); (iv) aerobic conditions or the presence of H2O2 as an oxidant; and (v) the presence of a gel system. On the basis of these, and aqueous control reactions, we suggest mechanistic possibilities.
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