1
|
Venturini A, González J. Prebiotic Synthesis of Glycolaldehyde and Glyceraldehyde from Formaldehyde: A Computational Study on the Initial Steps of the Formose Reaction. Chempluschem 2024; 89:e202300388. [PMID: 37932034 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202300388] [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: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
In this work, the initial steps of the mechanism of the Formose reaction (FR) is computationally studied using DFT methods. The FR has been considered to be a relevant process in the prebiotic evolution leading to several types of sugars or carbohydrates. These molecules are some of the basic building blocks of the life. The dimerization of formaldehyde was found to take place via an intramolecular deprotonation reaction, leading to the formation of an intermediate which, after an isomerization, forms a Ca-complex of the cis-enediol tautomer of glycolaldehyde. The aldol reaction of this complex with additional formaldehyde gave glyceraldehyde, the simplest aldotriose. The catalyst Ca(OH)2 plays a dual role in the reaction, acting as a base (in the intramolecular deprotonation) and as Lewis acid (activating the carbonyl group) in the aldol addition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Venturini
- Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, -Bologna, Italy
| | - Javier González
- Departamento de Química Orgánica e Inorgánica, Universidad de Oviedo, c/ Julián Clavería 8, 33006-, Oviedo, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liao Q, Xie P, Wang Z. Enantiodetermining processes in the synthesis of alanine, serine, and isovaline. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:28829-28834. [PMID: 37853775 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03212d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
In this study, quantum chemical calculations were used to explore the synthesis of three chiral α-amino acids, specifically alanine, serine, and isovaline, from reactants found in interstellar space. Our focus is on the crucial step in the synthesis pathway that determines the chirality of the amino acids. The results indicate that in the case of alanine, the determination of enantiomer is primarily influenced by the direction of the collision of molecules or functional groups, which leads to the formation of a chirality center in a crucial intermediate. However, contrary to chemical expectations, the enantiodetermining/enantioselection step for serine and isovaline synthesis occurs prior to the creation of a chirality center.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qingli Liao
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| | - Peng Xie
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Zhao Wang
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Martínez RF, Cuccia LA, Viedma C, Cintas P. On the Origin of Sugar Handedness: Facts, Hypotheses and Missing Links-A Review. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2022; 52:21-56. [PMID: 35796896 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-022-09624-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
By paraphrasing one of Kipling's most amazing short stories (How the Leopard Got His Spots), this article could be entitled "How Sugars Became Homochiral". Obviously, we have no answer to this still unsolved mystery, and this perspective simply brings recent models, experiments and hypotheses into the homochiral homogeneity of sugars on earth. We shall revisit the past and current understanding of sugar chirality in the context of prebiotic chemistry, with attention to recent developments and insights. Different scenarios and pathways will be discussed, from the widely known formose-type processes to less familiar ones, often viewed as unorthodox chemical routes. In particular, problems associated with the spontaneous generation of enantiomeric imbalances and the transfer of chirality will be tackled. As carbohydrates are essential components of all cellular systems, astrochemical and terrestrial observations suggest that saccharides originated from environmentally available feedstocks. Such substances would have been capable of sustaining autotrophic and heterotrophic mechanisms integrating nutrients, metabolism and the genome after compartmentalization. Recent findings likewise indicate that sugars' enantiomeric bias may have emerged by a transfer of chirality mechanisms, rather than by deracemization of sugar backbones, yet providing an evolutionary advantage that fueled the cellular machinery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Fernando Martínez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
| | - Louis A Cuccia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM/CQMF), FRQNT, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Cristóbal Viedma
- Department of Crystallography and Mineralogy, University Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Cintas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Huang ZY, Yang H, Jiang ZY, Zhou L, Li QH, Zhao ZG. In(OTf)3 catalyzed regioselective acyloin rearrangement of 1-acyl-1-indanols. Tetrahedron Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2022.153987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
5
|
Buhse T, Micheau JC. Spontaneous Emergence of Transient Chirality in Closed, Reversible Frank-like Deterministic Models. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2022; 52:3-20. [PMID: 35680768 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-022-09621-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
To explore abiotic theories related to the origin of biomolecular homochirality, we analyze two entirely reversible kinetic models composed of an enantioselective autocatalysis with limited stereoselectivity that is coupled to an enantiomeric mutual inhibition (Frank-like models). The two models differ in their autocatalytic steps in respect to the formation of monomer species in one model and of dimer species in the other. While fully reversible and running in a closed system, spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SMSB) gives rise to transient chiral excursions, even when starting from a strictly achiral situation. Before the SMSB, the two models differ in the main dissipative processes. At the SMSB, the entropy production rate reaches its maximum in both models. Here it is the enantioselective autocatalysis with retention of the winner enantiomer that dominates. During the terminal phase, the enantioselective autocatalysis with inversion prevails, while the entropy production rate vanishes, thus fulfilling the conditions of microscopic reversibility. SMSB does not occur if the autocatalytic rate constant is too strong or too weak. However, when the autocatalysis is relatively weak, the temporary chiral excursions last for long periods of time and could be the starting point of a cascade of asymmetric reactions. The realism of such Frank-like models is discussed from the viewpoint of their relevance to prebiotic chemistry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Buhse
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas - IICBA, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenida Universidad 1001, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
| | - Jean-Claude Micheau
- Laboratoire des IMRCP, Université Paul Sabatier, UMR au CNRS No. 5623, F-31062, Toulouse Cedex, France.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Possible Ribose Synthesis in Carbonaceous Planetesimals. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12030404. [PMID: 35330155 PMCID: PMC8955445 DOI: 10.3390/life12030404] [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: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of life might be sparked by the polymerization of the first RNA molecules in Darwinian ponds during wet-dry cycles. The key life-building block ribose was found in carbonaceous chondrites. Its exogenous delivery onto the Hadean Earth could be a crucial step toward the emergence of the RNA world. Here, we investigate the formation of ribose through a simplified version of the formose reaction inside carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies. Following up on our previous studies regarding nucleobases with the same coupled physico-chemical model, we calculate the abundance of ribose within planetesimals of different sizes and heating histories. We perform laboratory experiments using catalysts present in carbonaceous chondrites to infer the yield of ribose among all pentoses (5Cs) forming during the formose reaction. These laboratory yields are used to tune our theoretical model that can only predict the total abundance of 5Cs. We found that the calculated abundances of ribose were similar to the ones measured in carbonaceous chondrites. We discuss the possibilities of chemical decomposition and preservation of ribose and derived constraints on time and location in planetesimals. In conclusion, the aqueous formose reaction might produce most of the ribose in carbonaceous chondrites. Together with our previous studies on nucleobases, we found that life-building blocks of the RNA world could be synthesized inside parent bodies and later delivered onto the early Earth.
Collapse
|
7
|
Chirality in Organic and Mineral Systems: A Review of Reactivity and Alteration Processes Relevant to Prebiotic Chemistry and Life Detection Missions. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14030460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Chirality is a central feature in the evolution of biological systems, but the reason for biology’s strong preference for specific chiralities of amino acids, sugars, and other molecules remains a controversial and unanswered question in origins of life research. Biological polymers tend toward homochiral systems, which favor the incorporation of a single enantiomer (molecules with a specific chiral configuration) over the other. There have been numerous investigations into the processes that preferentially enrich one enantiomer to understand the evolution of an early, racemic, prebiotic organic world. Chirality can also be a property of minerals; their interaction with chiral organics is important for assessing how post-depositional alteration processes could affect the stereochemical configuration of simple and complex organic molecules. In this paper, we review the properties of organic compounds and minerals as well as the physical, chemical, and geological processes that affect organic and mineral chirality during the preservation and detection of organic compounds. We provide perspectives and discussions on the reactions and analytical techniques that can be performed in the laboratory, and comment on the state of knowledge of flight-capable technologies in current and future planetary missions, with a focus on organics analysis and life detection.
Collapse
|
8
|
Sharma S, Arya A, Cruz R, Cleaves II HJ. Automated Exploration of Prebiotic Chemical Reaction Space: Progress and Perspectives. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:1140. [PMID: 34833016 PMCID: PMC8624352 DOI: 10.3390/life11111140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Prebiotic chemistry often involves the study of complex systems of chemical reactions that form large networks with a large number of diverse species. Such complex systems may have given rise to emergent phenomena that ultimately led to the origin of life on Earth. The environmental conditions and processes involved in this emergence may not be fully recapitulable, making it difficult for experimentalists to study prebiotic systems in laboratory simulations. Computational chemistry offers efficient ways to study such chemical systems and identify the ones most likely to display complex properties associated with life. Here, we review tools and techniques for modelling prebiotic chemical reaction networks and outline possible ways to identify self-replicating features that are central to many origin-of-life models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Siddhant Sharma
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA; (S.S.); (A.A.); (R.C.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110019, India
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Aayush Arya
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA; (S.S.); (A.A.); (R.C.)
- Department of Physics, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar-Delhi GT Road, Phagwara 144001, India
| | - Romulo Cruz
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA; (S.S.); (A.A.); (R.C.)
- Big Data Laboratory, Information and Communications Technology Center (CTIC), National University of Engineering, Amaru 210, Lima 15333, Peru
| | - Henderson James Cleaves II
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA; (S.S.); (A.A.); (R.C.)
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Banfalvi G. Prebiotic Pathway from Ribose to RNA Formation. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22083857. [PMID: 33917807 PMCID: PMC8068141 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22083857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
At the focus of abiotic chemical reactions is the synthesis of ribose. No satisfactory explanation was provided as to the missing link between the prebiotic synthesis of ribose and prebiotic RNA (preRNA). Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is assumed to have been the principal precursor in the prebiotic formation of aldopentoses in the formose reaction and in the synthesis of ribose. Ribose as the best fitting aldopentose became the exclusive sugar component of RNA. The elevated yield of ribose synthesis at higher temperatures and its protection from decomposition could have driven the polymerization of the ribose-phosphate backbone and the coupling of nucleobases to the backbone. RNA could have come into being without the involvement of nucleotide precursors. The first nucleoside monophosphate is likely to have appeared upon the hydrolysis of preRNA contributed by the presence of reactive 2′-OH moieties in the preRNA chain. As a result of phosphorylation, nucleoside monophosphates became nucleoside triphosphates, substrates for the selective synthesis of genRNA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gaspar Banfalvi
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Debrecen, 1 Egyetem Square, 4010 Debrecen, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|