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Christensen M, Adams D, Wong ML, Dunn P, Yung YL. New Estimates of Nitrogen Fixation on Early Earth. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:601. [PMID: 38792622 PMCID: PMC11122333 DOI: 10.3390/life14050601] [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: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Fixed nitrogen species generated by the early Earth's atmosphere are thought to be critical to the emergence of life and the sustenance of early metabolisms. A previous study estimated nitrogen fixation in the Hadean Earth's N2/CO2-dominated atmosphere; however, that previous study only considered a limited chemical network that produces NOx species (i.e., no HCN formation) via the thermochemical dissociation of N2 and CO2 in lightning flashes, followed by photochemistry. Here, we present an updated model of nitrogen fixation on Hadean Earth. We use the Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) thermochemical model to estimate lightning-induced NO and HCN formation and an updated version of KINETICS, the 1-D Caltech/JPL photochemical model, to assess the photochemical production of fixed nitrogen species that rain out into the Earth's early ocean. Our updated photochemical model contains hydrocarbon and nitrile chemistry, and we use a Geant4 simulation platform to consider nitrogen fixation stimulated by solar energetic particle deposition throughout the atmosphere. We study the impact of a novel reaction pathway for generating HCN via HCN2, inspired by the experimental results which suggest that reactions with CH radicals (from CH4 photolysis) may facilitate the incorporation of N into the molecular structure of aerosols. When the HCN2 reactions are added, we find that the HCN rainout rate rises by a factor of five in our 1-bar case and is about the same in our 2- and 12-bar cases. Finally, we estimate the equilibrium concentration of fixed nitrogen species under a kinetic steady state in the Hadean ocean, considering loss by hydrothermal vent circulation, photoreduction, and hydrolysis. These results inform our understanding of environments that may have been relevant to the formation of life on Earth, as well as processes that could lead to the emergence of life elsewhere in the universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline Christensen
- Bellarmine Preparatory Marine Chemistry Program, Tacoma, WA 98405, USA
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Danica Adams
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- NHFP Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Michael L. Wong
- NHFP Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - Patrick Dunn
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;
| | - Yuk L. Yung
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
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2
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Todd ZR, Lozano GG, Kufner CL, Ranjan S, Catling DC, Sasselov DD. UV Transmission in Prebiotic Environments on Early Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:559-569. [PMID: 38768432 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) light is likely to have played important roles in surficial origins of life scenarios, potentially as a productive source of energy and molecular activation, as a selective means to remove unwanted side products, or as a destructive mechanism resulting in loss of molecules/biomolecules over time. The transmission of UV light through prebiotic waters depends upon the chemical constituents of such waters, but constraints on this transmission are limited. Here, we experimentally measure the molar decadic extinction coefficients for a number of small molecules used in various prebiotic synthetic schemes. We find that many small feedstock molecules absorb most at short (∼200 nm) wavelengths, with decreasing UV absorption at longer wavelengths. For comparison, we also measured the nucleobase adenine and found that adenine absorbs significantly more than the simpler molecules often invoked in prebiotic synthesis. Our results enable the calculation of UV photon penetration under varying chemical scenarios and allow further constraints on plausibility and self-consistency of such scenarios. While the precise path that prebiotic chemistry took remains elusive, improved understanding of the UV environment in prebiotically plausible waters can help constrain both the chemistry and the environmental conditions that may allow such chemistry to occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R Todd
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Gabriella G Lozano
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Corinna L Kufner
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sukrit Ranjan
- Lunar & Planetary Laboratory/Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - David C Catling
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Dimitar D Sasselov
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Rimmer PB, Shorttle O. A Surface Hydrothermal Source of Nitriles and Isonitriles. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:498. [PMID: 38672768 PMCID: PMC11051382 DOI: 10.3390/life14040498] [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: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Giant impacts can generate transient hydrogen-rich atmospheres, reducing atmospheric carbon. The reduced carbon will form hazes that rain out onto the surface and can become incorporated into the crust. Once heated, a large fraction of the carbon is converted into graphite. The result is that local regions of the Hadean crust were plausibly saturated with graphite. We explore the consequences of such a crust for a prebiotic surface hydrothermal vent scenario. We model a surface vent fed by nitrogen-rich volcanic gas from high-temperature magmas passing through graphite-saturated crust. We consider this occurring at pressures of 1-1000bar and temperatures of 1500-1700 ∘C. The equilibrium with graphite purifies the leftover gas, resulting in substantial quantities of nitriles (0.1% HCN and 1ppm HC3N) and isonitriles (0.01% HNC) relevant for prebiotic chemistry. We use these results to predict gas-phase concentrations of methyl isocyanide of ∼1 ppm. Methyl isocyanide can participate in the non-enzymatic activation and ligation of the monomeric building blocks of life, and surface or shallow hydrothermal environments provide its only known equilibrium geochemical source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul B. Rimmer
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
| | - Oliver Shorttle
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
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4
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Kotsyurbenko OR, Kompanichenko VN, Brouchkov AV, Khrunyk YY, Karlov SP, Sorokin VV, Skladnev DA. Different Scenarios for the Origin and the Subsequent Succession of a Hypothetical Microbial Community in the Cloud Layer of Venus. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:423-441. [PMID: 38563825 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0117] [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: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The possible existence of a microbial community in the venusian clouds is one of the most intriguing hypotheses in modern astrobiology. Such a community must be characterized by a high survivability potential under severe environmental conditions, the most extreme of which are very low pH levels and water activity. Considering different scenarios for the origin of life and geological history of our planet, a few of these scenarios are discussed in the context of the origin of hypothetical microbial life within the venusian cloud layer. The existence of liquid water on the surface of ancient Venus is one of the key outstanding questions influencing this possibility. We link the inherent attributes of microbial life as we know it that favor the persistence of life in such an environment and review the possible scenarios of life's origin and its evolution under a strong greenhouse effect and loss of water on Venus. We also propose a roadmap and describe a novel methodological approach for astrobiological research in the framework of future missions to Venus with the intent to reveal whether life exists today on the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg R Kotsyurbenko
- Higher School of Ecology, Yugra State University, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Vladimir N Kompanichenko
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems RAS, Birobidzhan, Russia
| | | | - Yuliya Y Khrunyk
- Department of Heat Treatment and Physics of Metal, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Sergey P Karlov
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Moscow Polytechnic University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir V Sorokin
- Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry A Skladnev
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
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5
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Todd ZR, Wogan NF, Catling DC. Favorable Environments for the Formation of Ferrocyanide, a Potentially Critical Reagent for Origins of Life. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2024; 8:221-229. [PMID: 38379837 PMCID: PMC10875668 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Cyanide and its derivatives play important roles in prebiotic chemistry through a variety of possible mechanisms. In particular, cyanide has been shown to allow for the synthesis of ribonucleotides and amino acids. Although dissolved hydrogen cyanide can be lost as a gas or undergo hydrolysis reactions, cyanide can also potentially be stored and stockpiled as ferrocyanide (Fe(CN)6-4), which is more stable. Furthermore, ferrocyanide aids in some prebiotic synthetic reactions. Here, we investigate the formation rates and yields of ferrocyanide as a function of various environmental parameters, such as the pH, temperature, and concentration. We find that ferrocyanide formation rates and yields are optimal at slightly alkaline conditions (pH 8-9) and moderate temperatures (≈20-30 °C). Given the wide range of possible lake environments likely available on early Earth, our results help to constrain the environmental conditions that would favor cyanide- and ferrocyanide-based prebiotic chemistries. We construct lake box models and find that ferrocyanide may be able to form and reach significant concentrations for prebiotic chemistry on the time scale of years under favorable conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R. Todd
- Department
of Earth and Space Sciences, University
of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Departments
of Chemistry and Astronomy, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Nicholas F. Wogan
- Department
of Earth and Space Sciences, 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
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6
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Antunes A, Meyer-Dombard DR. Editorial: Rising stars in space microbiology: 2022. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1322924. [PMID: 38029155 PMCID: PMC10679738 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1322924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- André Antunes
- State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao SAR, China
- China National Space Administration (CNSA), Macau Center for Space Exploration and Science, Taipa, Macao SAR, China
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - D'Arcy R. Meyer-Dombard
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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7
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Green NJ, Russell DA, Tanner SH, Sutherland JD. Prebiotic Synthesis of N-Formylaminonitriles and Derivatives in Formamide. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:10533-10541. [PMID: 37146260 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c13306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Amino acids and their derivatives were probably instrumental in the transition of prebiotic chemistry to early biology. Accordingly, amino acid formation under prebiotic conditions has been intensively investigated. Unsurprisingly, most of these studies have taken place with water as the solvent. Herein, we describe an investigation into the formation and subsequent reactions of aminonitriles and their formylated derivatives in formamide. We find that N-formylaminonitriles form readily from aldehydes and cyanide in formamide, even in the absence of added ammonia, suggesting a potentially prebiotic source of amino acid derivatives. Alkaline processing of N-formylaminonitriles proceeds with hydration at the nitrile group faster than deformylation, protecting aminonitrile derivatives from reversion of the Strecker condensation equilibrium during hydration/hydrolysis and furnishing mixtures of N-formylated and unformylated amino acid derivatives. Furthermore, the facile synthesis of N-formyldehydroalanine nitrile is observed in formamide from glycolaldehyde and cyanide without intervention. Dehydroalanine derivatives have been proposed as important compounds for prebiotic peptide synthesis, and we demonstrate both a synthesis suggesting that they are potentially plausible components of a prebiotic inventory, and reactions showing their utility as abiotic precursors to a range of compounds of prebiological interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Green
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - David A Russell
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K
| | - Sasha H Tanner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - John D Sutherland
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K
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8
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Kobayashi K, Ise JI, Aoki R, Kinoshita M, Naito K, Udo T, Kunwar B, Takahashi JI, Shibata H, Mita H, Fukuda H, Oguri Y, Kawamura K, Kebukawa Y, Airapetian VS. Formation of Amino Acids and Carboxylic Acids in Weakly Reducing Planetary Atmospheres by Solar Energetic Particles from the Young Sun. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13051103. [PMID: 37240748 DOI: 10.3390/life13051103] [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: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Life most likely started during the Hadean Eon; however, the environmental conditions which contributed to the complexity of its chemistry are poorly known. A better understanding of various environmental conditions, including global (heliospheric) and local (atmospheric, surface, and oceanic), along with the internal dynamic conditions of the early Earth, are required to understand the onset of abiogenesis. Herein, we examine the contributions of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and solar energetic particles (SEPs) associated with superflares from the young Sun to the formation of amino acids and carboxylic acids in weakly reduced gas mixtures representing the early Earth's atmosphere. We also compare the products with those introduced by lightning events and solar ultraviolet light (UV). In a series of laboratory experiments, we detected and characterized the formation of amino acids and carboxylic acids via proton irradiation of a mixture of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, and water in various mixing ratios. These experiments show the detection of amino acids after acid hydrolysis when 0.5% (v/v) of initial methane was introduced to the gas mixture. In the set of experiments with spark discharges (simulation of lightning flashes) performed for the same gas mixture, we found that at least 15% methane was required to detect the formation of amino acids, and no amino acids were detected in experiments via UV irradiation, even when 50% methane was used. Carboxylic acids were formed in non-reducing gas mixtures (0% methane) by proton irradiation and spark discharges. Hence, we suggest that GCRs and SEP events from the young Sun represent the most effective energy sources for the prebiotic formation of biologically important organic compounds from weakly reducing atmospheres. Since the energy flux of space weather, which generated frequent SEPs from the young Sun in the first 600 million years after the birth of the solar system, was expected to be much greater than that of GCRs, we conclude that SEP-driven energetic protons are the most promising energy sources for the prebiotic production of bioorganic compounds in the atmosphere of the Hadean Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kensei Kobayashi
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Jun-Ichi Ise
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Ryohei Aoki
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Miei Kinoshita
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Koki Naito
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Takumi Udo
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Bhagawati Kunwar
- Chubu Institute of Advanced Studies, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan
| | - Jun-Ichi Takahashi
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Hiromi Shibata
- SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research), Osaka University, Ibaraki 567-0047, Japan
| | - Hajime Mita
- Department of Life, Environment and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Fukuoka 811-0295, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Fukuda
- Open Facility Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Oguri
- Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Kimitaka Kawamura
- Chubu Institute of Advanced Studies, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan
| | - Yoko Kebukawa
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Vladimir S Airapetian
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Sellers Exoplanetary Environments Collaboration, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Department of Physics, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
- Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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9
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Zhang Z, Jiang H, Ju P, Pan L, Rouillard J, Zhou G, Huang F, Hao J. Evaluating the abiotic synthesis potential and the stability of building blocks of life beneath an impact-induced steam atmosphere. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1032073. [PMID: 37089554 PMCID: PMC10116804 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1032073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
A prerequisite for prebiotic chemistry is the accumulation of critical building blocks of life. Some studies argue that more frequent impact events on the primitive Earth could have induced a more reducing steam atmosphere and thus favor widespread and more efficient synthesis of life building blocks. However, elevated temperature is also proposed to threaten the stability of organics and whether life building blocks could accumulate to appreciable levels in the reducing yet hot surface seawater beneath the steam atmosphere is still poorly examined. Here, we used a thermodynamic tool to examine the synthesis affinity of various life building blocks using inorganic gasses as reactants at elevated temperatures and corresponding steam pressures relevant with the steam-seawater interface. Our calculations show that although the synthesis affinity of all life building blocks decreases when temperature increases, many organics, including methane, methanol, and carboxylic acids, have positive synthesis affinity over a wide range of temperatures, implying that these species were favorable to form (>10-6 molal) in the surface seawater. However, cyanide and formaldehyde have overall negative affinities, suggesting that these critical compounds would tend to undergo hydrolysis in the surface seawaters. Most of the 18 investigated amino acids have positive affinities at temperature <220°C and their synthesis affinity increases under more alkaline conditions. Sugars, ribose, and nucleobases have overall negative synthesis affinities at the investigated range of temperatures. Synthesis affinities are shown to be sensitive to the hydrogen fugacity. Higher hydrogen fugacity (in equilibrium with FQI or IW) favors the synthesis and accumulation of nearly all the investigated compounds, except for HCN and its derivate products. In summary, our results suggest that reducing conditions induced by primitive impacts could indeed favor the synthesis/accumulation of some life building blocks, but some critical species, particularly HCN and nucleosides, were still unfavorable to accumulate to appreciable levels. Our results can provide helpful guidance for future efforts to search for or understand the stability of biomolecules on other planets like Mars and icy moons. We advocate examining craters formed by more reducing impactors to look for the preservation of prebiotic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongbin Zhang
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Haofan Jiang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Pengcheng Ju
- State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environment, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
| | - Lu Pan
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joti Rouillard
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Gentao Zhou
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Fang Huang
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Jihua Hao
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, Anhui, China
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10
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Prebiotic Synthesis of ATP: A Terrestrial Volcanism-Dependent Pathway. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13030731. [PMID: 36983886 PMCID: PMC10053121 DOI: 10.3390/life13030731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional small molecule, necessary for all modern Earth life, which must be a component of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). However, the relatively complex structure of ATP causes doubts about its accessibility on prebiotic Earth. In this paper, based on previous studies on the synthesis of ATP components, a plausible prebiotic pathway yielding this key molecule is constructed, which relies on terrestrial volcanism to provide the required materials and suitable conditions.
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11
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Pastorek A, Clark VHJ, Yurchenko SN, Ferus M, Civiš S. New physical insights: Formamide discharge decomposition and the role of fragments in the formation of large biomolecules. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2022; 278:121322. [PMID: 35537261 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.121322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work we present a time-resolved FTIR spectroscopic study on kinetics of atomic and molecular species, specifically CO, CN radical, N2, HCN and CO2 generated in a glow discharge of formamide-nitrogen-water mixture in a helium buffer gas. Radicals such as NH, CH and OH have been proven to be fundamental stones of subsequent chemical reactions having a crucial role in a prebiotic synthesis of large organic molecules. This work contains three main goals. Firstly, we present our time-resolved spectra of formamide decomposition products and discuss the mechanism of collisional excitations between specific species. Secondly, according to our time resolution, we demonstrate and explain the band shape of CO's first overtone and the energy transfer between excited nitrogen and CO, present in our spectra. Lastly, we present theoretical results for the non-LTE modelling of the spectra using bi-temperature approach and a 1D harmonic Franck-Condon approach for the multi-molecule spectra of the formamide decomposition process in the 1800-5600 cm-1 spectral range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pastorek
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague 8, Czech Republic; Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 78/7, 11519 Prague 1, Czech Republic
| | - Victoria H J Clark
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Sergei N Yurchenko
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Ferus
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Svatopluk Civiš
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague 8, Czech Republic.
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12
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Dissipative Photochemical Abiogenesis of the Purines. ENTROPY 2022; 24:e24081027. [PMID: 35893007 PMCID: PMC9394256 DOI: 10.3390/e24081027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We have proposed that the abiogenesis of life around the beginning of the Archean may have been an example of “spontaneous” microscopic dissipative structuring of UV-C pigments under the prevailing surface ultraviolet solar spectrum. The thermodynamic function of these Archean pigments (the “fundamental molecules of life”), as for the visible pigments of today, was to dissipate the incident solar light into heat. We have previously described the non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the photochemical mechanisms which may have been involved in the dissipative structuring of the purines adenine and hypoxanthine from the common precursor molecules of hydrogen cyanide and water under this UV light. In this article, we extend our analysis to include the production of the other two important purines, guanine and xanthine. The photochemical reactions are presumed to occur within a fatty acid vesicle floating on a hot (∼80 °C) neutral pH ocean surface exposed to the prevailing UV-C light. Reaction–diffusion equations are resolved under different environmental conditions. Significant amounts of adenine (∼10−5 M) and guanine (∼10−6 M) are obtained within 60 Archean days, starting from realistic concentrations of the precursors hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen (∼10−5 M).
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13
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Nader S, Sebastianelli L, Mansy SS. Protometabolism as out-of-equilibrium chemistry. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2022; 380:20200423. [PMID: 35599565 PMCID: PMC9125230 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
It is common to compare life with machines. Both consume fuel and release waste to run. In biology, the engine that drives the living system is referred to as metabolism. However, attempts at deciphering the origins of metabolism do not focus on this energetic relationship that sustains life but rather concentrate on nonenzymatic reactions that produce all the intermediates of an extant metabolic pathway. Such an approach is akin to studying the molecules produced from the burning of coal instead of deciphering how the released energy drives the movement of pistons and ultimately the train when investigating the mechanisms behind locomotion. Theories that do explicitly invoke geological chemical gradients to drive metabolism most frequently feature hydrothermal vent conditions, but hydrothermal vents are not the only regions of the early Earth that could have provided the fuel necessary to sustain the Earth's first (proto)cells. Here, we give examples of prior reports on protometabolism and highlight how more recent investigations of out-of-equilibrium systems may point to alternative scenarios more consistent with the majority of prebiotic chemistry data accumulated thus far. This article is part of the theme issue 'Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serge Nader
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G2
| | - Lorenzo Sebastianelli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G2
| | - Sheref S. Mansy
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G2
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14
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Wimmer JLE, Xavier JC, Vieira ADN, Pereira DPH, Leidner J, Sousa FL, Kleinermanns K, Preiner M, Martin WF. Energy at Origins: Favorable Thermodynamics of Biosynthetic Reactions in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA). Front Microbiol 2021; 12:793664. [PMID: 34966373 PMCID: PMC8710812 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.793664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Though all theories for the origin of life require a source of energy to promote primordial chemical reactions, the nature of energy that drove the emergence of metabolism at origins is still debated. We reasoned that evidence for the nature of energy at origins should be preserved in the biochemical reactions of life itself, whereby changes in free energy, ΔG, which determine whether a reaction can go forward or not, should help specify the source. By calculating values of ΔG across the conserved and universal core of 402 individual reactions that synthesize amino acids, nucleotides and cofactors from H2, CO2, NH3, H2S and phosphate in modern cells, we find that 95-97% of these reactions are exergonic (ΔG ≤ 0 kJ⋅mol-1) at pH 7-10 and 80-100°C under nonequilibrium conditions with H2 replacing biochemical reductants. While 23% of the core's reactions involve ATP hydrolysis, 77% are ATP-independent, thermodynamically driven by ΔG of reactions involving carbon bonds. We identified 174 reactions that are exergonic by -20 to -300 kJ⋅mol-1 at pH 9 and 80°C and that fall into ten reaction types: six pterin dependent alkyl or acyl transfers, ten S-adenosylmethionine dependent alkyl transfers, four acyl phosphate hydrolyses, 14 thioester hydrolyses, 30 decarboxylations, 35 ring closure reactions, 31 aromatic ring formations, and 44 carbon reductions by reduced nicotinamide, flavins, ferredoxin, or formate. The 402 reactions of the biosynthetic core trace to the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), and reveal that synthesis of LUCA's chemical constituents required no external energy inputs such as electric discharge, UV-light or phosphide minerals. The biosynthetic reactions of LUCA uncover a natural thermodynamic tendency of metabolism to unfold from energy released by reactions of H2, CO2, NH3, H2S, and phosphate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L. E. Wimmer
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Joana C. Xavier
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andrey d. N. Vieira
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Delfina P. H. Pereira
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jacqueline Leidner
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Filipa L. Sousa
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl Kleinermanns
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Martina Preiner
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - William F. Martin
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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15
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Vincent L, Colón-Santos S, Cleaves HJ, Baum DA, Maurer SE. The Prebiotic Kitchen: A Guide to Composing Prebiotic Soup Recipes to Test Origins of Life Hypotheses. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11111221. [PMID: 34833097 PMCID: PMC8618940 DOI: 10.3390/life11111221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
“Prebiotic soup” often features in discussions of origins of life research, both as a theoretical concept when discussing abiological pathways to modern biochemical building blocks and, more recently, as a feedstock in prebiotic chemistry experiments focused on discovering emergent, systems-level processes such as polymerization, encapsulation, and evolution. However, until now, little systematic analysis has gone into the design of well-justified prebiotic mixtures, which are needed to facilitate experimental replicability and comparison among researchers. This paper explores principles that should be considered in choosing chemical mixtures for prebiotic chemistry experiments by reviewing the natural environmental conditions that might have created such mixtures and then suggests reasonable guidelines for designing recipes. We discuss both “assembled” mixtures, which are made by mixing reagent grade chemicals, and “synthesized” mixtures, which are generated directly from diversity-generating primary prebiotic syntheses. We discuss different practical concerns including how to navigate the tremendous uncertainty in the chemistry of the early Earth and how to balance the desire for using prebiotically realistic mixtures with experimental tractability and replicability. Examples of two assembled mixtures, one based on materials likely delivered by carbonaceous meteorites and one based on spark discharge synthesis, are presented to illustrate these challenges. We explore alternative procedures for making synthesized mixtures using recursive chemical reaction systems whose outputs attempt to mimic atmospheric and geochemical synthesis. Other experimental conditions such as pH and ionic strength are also considered. We argue that developing a handful of standardized prebiotic recipes may facilitate coordination among researchers and enable the identification of the most promising mechanisms by which complex prebiotic mixtures were “tamed” during the origin of life to give rise to key living processes such as self-propagation, information processing, and adaptive evolution. We end by advocating for the development of a public prebiotic chemistry database containing experimental methods (including soup recipes), results, and analytical pipelines for analyzing complex prebiotic mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Vincent
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - Stephanie Colón-Santos
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - H. James Cleaves
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, The Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA;
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Seattle, WA 97154, USA
| | - David A. Baum
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
| | - Sarah E. Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT 06050, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
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16
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Criado-Reyes J, Bizzarri BM, García-Ruiz JM, Saladino R, Di Mauro E. The role of borosilicate glass in Miller-Urey experiment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21009. [PMID: 34697338 PMCID: PMC8545935 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00235-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We have designed a set of experiments to test the role of borosilicate reactor on the yielding of the Miller-Urey type of experiment. Two experiments were performed in borosilicate flasks, two in a Teflon flask and the third couple in a Teflon flask with pieces of borosilicate submerged in the water. The experiments were performed in CH4, N2, and NH3 atmosphere either buffered at pH 8.7 with NH4Cl or unbuffered solutions at pH ca. 11, at room temperature. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy results show important differences in the yields, the number of products, and molecular weight. In particular, a dipeptide, multi-carbon dicarboxylic acids, PAHs, and a complete panel of biological nucleobases form more efficiently or exclusively in the borosilicate vessel. Our results offer a better explanation of the famous Miller's experiment showing the efficiency of borosilicate in a triphasic system including water and the reduced Miller-Urey atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joaquín Criado-Reyes
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad de Granada, Avenida de las Palmeras 4, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain
| | - Bruno M Bizzarri
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Juan Manuel García-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad de Granada, Avenida de las Palmeras 4, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain.
| | - Raffaele Saladino
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Ernesto Di Mauro
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
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17
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Chu XY, Chen SM, Zhao KW, Tian T, Gao J, Zhang HY. Plausibility of Early Life in a Relatively Wide Temperature Range: Clues from Simulated Metabolic Network Expansion. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11080738. [PMID: 34440482 PMCID: PMC8398716 DOI: 10.3390/life11080738] [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: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The debate on the temperature of the environment where life originated is still inconclusive. Metabolic reactions constitute the basis of life, and may be a window to the world where early life was born. Temperature is an important parameter of reaction thermodynamics, which determines whether metabolic reactions can proceed. In this study, the scale of the prebiotic metabolic network at different temperatures was examined by a thermodynamically constrained network expansion simulation. It was found that temperature has limited influence on the scale of the simulated metabolic networks, implying that early life may have occurred in a relatively wide temperature range.
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18
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Villafañe-Barajas SA, Ruiz-Bermejo M, Rayo-Pizarroso P, Gálvez-Martínez S, Mateo-Martí E, Colín-García M. A Lizardite-HCN Interaction Leading the Increasing of Molecular Complexity in an Alkaline Hydrothermal Scenario: Implications for Origin of Life Studies. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11070661. [PMID: 34357033 PMCID: PMC8305185 DOI: 10.3390/life11070661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen cyanide, HCN, is considered a fundamental molecule in chemical evolution. The named HCN polymers have been suggested as precursors of important bioorganics. Some novel researches have focused on the role of mineral surfaces in the hydrolysis and/or polymerization of cyanide species, but until now, their role has been unclear. Understanding the role of minerals in chemical evolution processes is crucial because minerals undoubtedly interacted with the organic molecules formed on the early Earth by different process. Therefore, we simulated the probable interactions between HCN and a serpentinite-hosted alkaline hydrothermal system. We studied the effect of serpentinite during the thermolysis of HCN at basic conditions (i.e., HCN 0.15 M, 50 h, 100 °C, pH > 10). The HCN-derived thermal polymer and supernatant formed after treatment were analyzed by several complementary analytical techniques. The results obtained suggest that: (I) the mineral surfaces can act as mediators in the mechanisms of organic molecule production such as the polymerization of HCN; (II) the thermal and physicochemical properties of the HCN polymer produced are affected by the presence of the mineral surface; and (III) serpentinite seems to inhibit the formation of bioorganic molecules compared with the control (without mineral).
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Affiliation(s)
- Saúl A. Villafañe-Barajas
- Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Marta Ruiz-Bermejo
- Departamento de Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra, Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (P.R.-P.); (S.G.-M.); (E.M.-M.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-915206458; Fax: +34-915206410
| | - Pedro Rayo-Pizarroso
- Departamento de Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra, Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (P.R.-P.); (S.G.-M.); (E.M.-M.)
| | - Santos Gálvez-Martínez
- Departamento de Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra, Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (P.R.-P.); (S.G.-M.); (E.M.-M.)
| | - Eva Mateo-Martí
- Departamento de Evolución Molecular, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Ctra, Torrejón-Ajalvir, km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (P.R.-P.); (S.G.-M.); (E.M.-M.)
| | - María Colín-García
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
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19
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Green NJ, Xu J, Sutherland JD. Illuminating Life's Origins: UV Photochemistry in Abiotic Synthesis of Biomolecules. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:7219-7236. [PMID: 33880920 PMCID: PMC8240947 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c01839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Solar radiation is the principal source of energy available to Earth and has unmatched potential for the synthesis of organic material from primordial molecular building blocks. As well as providing the energy for photochemical synthesis of (proto)biomolecules of interest in origins of life-related research, light has also been found to often provide remarkable selectivity in these processes, for molecules that function in extant biology and against those that do not. As such, light is heavily implicated as an environmental input on the nascent Earth that was important for the emergence of complex yet selective chemical systems underpinning life. Reactivity and selectivity in photochemical prebiotic synthesis are discussed, as are their implications for origins of life scenarios and their plausibility, and the future directions of this research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J. Green
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge
Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.
| | - Jianfeng Xu
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge
Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.
| | - John D. Sutherland
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge
Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, U.K.
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20
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The Dissipative Photochemical Origin of Life: UVC Abiogenesis of Adenine. ENTROPY 2021; 23:e23020217. [PMID: 33579010 PMCID: PMC7916814 DOI: 10.3390/e23020217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the photochemical reaction mechanisms are described which may have been involved in the dissipative structuring, proliferation and complexation of the fundamental molecules of life from simpler and more common precursors under the UVC photon flux prevalent at the Earth’s surface at the origin of life. Dissipative structuring of the fundamental molecules is evidenced by their strong and broad wavelength absorption bands in the UVC and rapid radiationless deexcitation. Proliferation arises from the auto- and cross-catalytic nature of the intermediate products. Inherent non-linearity gives rise to numerous stationary states permitting the system to evolve, on amplification of a fluctuation, towards concentration profiles providing generally greater photon dissipation through a thermodynamic selection of dissipative efficacy. An example is given of photochemical dissipative abiogenesis of adenine from the precursor HCN in water solvent within a fatty acid vesicle floating on a hot ocean surface and driven far from equilibrium by the incident UVC light. The kinetic equations for the photochemical reactions with diffusion are resolved under different environmental conditions and the results analyzed within the framework of non-linear Classical Irreversible Thermodynamic theory.
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21
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Bizzarri BM, Saladino R, Delfino I, García-Ruiz JM, Di Mauro E. Prebiotic Organic Chemistry of Formamide and the Origin of Life in Planetary Conditions: What We Know and What Is the Future. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22020917. [PMID: 33477625 PMCID: PMC7831497 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of prebiotic chemistry is the depiction of molecular evolution events preceding the emergence of life on Earth or elsewhere in the cosmos. Plausible experimental models require geochemical scenarios and robust chemistry. Today we know that the chemical and physical conditions for life to flourish on Earth were at work much earlier than thought, i.e., earlier than 4.4 billion years ago. In recent years, a geochemical model for the first five hundred million years of the history of our planet has been devised that would work as a cradle for life. Serpentinization processes in the Hadean eon affording self-assembled structures and vesicles provides the link between the catalytic properties of the inorganic environment and the impressive chemical potential of formamide to produce complete panels of organic molecules relevant in pre-genetic and pre-metabolic processes. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, we propose basic transformations connecting geochemistry to the chemistry of formamide, and we hint at the possible extension of this perspective to other worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Mattia Bizzarri
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (B.M.B.); (I.D.); (E.D.M.)
| | - Raffaele Saladino
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (B.M.B.); (I.D.); (E.D.M.)
- Correspondence: (R.S.); (J.M.G.-R.)
| | - Ines Delfino
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (B.M.B.); (I.D.); (E.D.M.)
| | - Juan Manuel García-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad de Granada, Avenida de las Palmeras 4, Armilla, 18100 Granada, Spain
- Correspondence: (R.S.); (J.M.G.-R.)
| | - Ernesto Di Mauro
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Department (DEB), University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (B.M.B.); (I.D.); (E.D.M.)
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22
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Abstract
Thresholds are widespread in origin of life scenarios, from the emergence of chirality, to the appearance of vesicles, of autocatalysis, all the way up to Darwinian evolution. Here, we analyze the “error threshold,” which poses a condition for sustaining polymer replication, and generalize the threshold approach to other properties of prebiotic systems. Thresholds provide theoretical predictions, prescribe experimental tests, and integrate interdisciplinary knowledge. The coupling between systems and their environment determines how thresholds can be crossed, leading to different categories of prebiotic transitions. Articulating multiple thresholds reveals evolutionary properties in prebiotic scenarios. Overall, thresholds indicate how to assess, revise, and compare origin of life scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyrille Jeancolas
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.,Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale, Collège de France, 52 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Christophe Malaterre
- Département de Philosophie and Centre de Recherche Interuniversitaire sur la Science et la Technologie (CIRST), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 455 boulevard René-Lévesque Est, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
| | - Philippe Nghe
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France
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23
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Pastorek A, Ferus M, Čuba V, Šrámek O, Ivanek O, Civiš S. Primordial Radioactivity and Prebiotic Chemical Evolution: Effect of γ Radiation on Formamide-Based Synthesis. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:8951-8959. [PMID: 32970439 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c05233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although the effect of ionizing radiation on prebiotic chemistry is often overlooked, primordial natural radioactivity might have been an important source of energy for various chemical transformations. Estimates of the abundances of short-lived radionuclides on early Earth suggest that the primordial intensity of endogenous terrestrial radioactivity was up to 4 × 103 times higher than it is today. Therefore, we assume that chemical substances in contact with radioactive rocks should therefore undergo radiolysis. The calculations are followed by research investigating the influence of ionizing γ radiation on basic prebiotic substances, including formamide mixed with various clays, which might have played the role of a catalyst and an agent that partially blocked radiation that was potentially destructive for the products. Our explorations of this effect have shown that the irradiation of formamide-clay mixtures at doses of ∼6 kGy produces significant amounts of urea (up to the maximal concentration of approximately 250 mg L-1), which plays a role in HCN-based prebiotic chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pastorek
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague, Prague 8, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 78/7, 11519 Prague, Prague 1, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Ferus
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague, Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Čuba
- Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 78/7, 11519 Prague, Prague 1, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Šrámek
- Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague, Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Ivanek
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague, Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Svatopluk Civiš
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague, Prague 8, Czech Republic
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24
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Wołos A, Roszak R, Żądło-Dobrowolska A, Beker W, Mikulak-Klucznik B, Spólnik G, Dygas M, Szymkuć S, Grzybowski BA. Synthetic connectivity, emergence, and
self-regeneration in the network of prebiotic
chemistry. Science 2020; 369:369/6511/eaaw1955. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw1955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The challenge of prebiotic chemistry is to
trace the syntheses of life’s key building blocks
from a handful of primordial substrates. Here we
report a forward-synthesis algorithm that
generates a full network of prebiotic chemical
reactions accessible from these substrates under
generally accepted conditions. This network
contains both reported and previously unidentified
routes to biotic targets, as well as plausible
syntheses of abiotic molecules. It also exhibits
three forms of nontrivial chemical emergence, as
the molecules within the network can act as
catalysts of downstream reaction types; form
functional chemical systems, including
self-regenerating cycles; and produce surfactants
relevant to primitive forms of biological
compartmentalization. To support these claims,
computer-predicted, prebiotic syntheses of several
biotic molecules as well as a multistep,
self-regenerative cycle of iminodiacetic acid were
validated by experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Wołos
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
| | - Rafał Roszak
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
| | | | - Wiktor Beker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
| | - Barbara Mikulak-Klucznik
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
| | - Grzegorz Spólnik
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
| | - Mirosław Dygas
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
| | - Sara Szymkuć
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
| | - Bartosz A. Grzybowski
- Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw,
Poland
- Allchemy, Inc., Highland, IN,
USA
- Center for Soft and Living Matter of
Korea’s Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Ulsan,
South Korea
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan
National Institute of Science and Technology,
Ulsan, South Korea
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25
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Abstract
Delivery of water and organics by asteroid and comet impacts may have influenced prebiotic chemistry on the early Earth. Some recent prebiotic chemistry experiments emphasize hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a feedstock molecule for the formation of sugars, ribonucleotides, amino acids, and lipid precursors. Here, we assess how much HCN originally contained in a comet would survive impact, using parametric temperature and pressure profiles together with a time-dependent chemistry model. We find that HCN survival mainly depends on whether the impact is hot enough to thermally decompose H2O into reactive radicals, and HCN is therefore rather insensitive to the details of the chemistry. In the most favorable impacts (low impact angle, low velocity, small radius), this temperature threshold is not reached, and intact delivery of HCN is possible. We estimate the global delivery of HCN during a period of Early and Late Heavy Bombardment of the early Earth, as well as local HCN concentrations achieved by individual impacts. In the latter case, comet impacts can provide prebiotically interesting HCN levels for thousands to millions of years, depending on properties of the impactor and of the local environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R Todd
- Department of Astronomy, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Karin I Öberg
- Department of Astronomy, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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26
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Cerqueira HBA, Santos JC, Fantuzzi F, Ribeiro FDA, Rocco MLM, Oliveira RR, Rocha AB. Structure, Stability, and Spectroscopic Properties of Small Acetonitrile Cation Clusters. J Phys Chem A 2020; 124:6845-6855. [PMID: 32702984 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.0c03529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ionization and fragmentation pathways induced by ionizing agents are key to understanding the formation of complex molecules in astrophysical environments. Acetonitrile (CH3CN), the simplest organic nitrile, is an important molecule present in the interstellar medium. In this work, DFT and MP2 calculations were performed in order to obtain the low energy structures of the most relevant cations formed from electron-stimulated ion desorption of CH3CN ices. Selected reaction pathways and spectroscopic properties were also calculated. Our results indicate that the most stable acetonitrile cation structure is CH2CNH+ and that hydrogenation can occur successively without isomerization steps until its complete saturation. Moreover, the stability of distinct cluster families formed from the interaction of acetonitrile with small fragments, such as CHn+, C2Hn+, and CHnCNH+, is discussed in terms of their respective binding energies. Some of these molecular clusters are stabilized by hydrogen bonds, leading to species whose infrared features are characterized by a strong redshift of the N-H stretching mode. Finally, the rotational spectra of CH3CN and protonated acetonitrile, CH3CNH+, were simulated using distinct computational protocols based on DFT, MP2, and CCSD(T) considering centrifugal distortion, vibrational-rotational coupling, and vibrational anharmonicity corrections. By adopting an empirical scaling procedure for calculating spectroscopic parameters, we were able to estimate the rotational frequencies of CH3CNH+ with an expected average error below 1 MHz for J values up to 10.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrique B A Cerqueira
- Instituto de Quı́mica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-909, Brazil
| | - Julia C Santos
- Instituto de Quı́mica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-909, Brazil
| | - Felipe Fantuzzi
- Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.,Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Emil-Fischer-Straße 42, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Maria Luiza M Rocco
- Instituto de Quı́mica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-909, Brazil
| | - Ricardo R Oliveira
- Instituto de Quı́mica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-909, Brazil
| | - Alexandre B Rocha
- Instituto de Quı́mica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-909, Brazil
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27
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Parker ET, Karki M, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP, Krishnamurthy R. A sensitive quantitative analysis of abiotically synthesized short homopeptides using ultraperformance liquid chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 2020; 1630:461509. [PMID: 32927393 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461509] [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: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In the origins of life field understanding the abiotic polymerization of simple organic monomers (e.g., amino acids) into larger biomolecules (e.g., oligopeptides), remains a seminal challenge. Recently, preliminary observations showed a limited set of peptides formed in the presence of the plausible prebiotic phosphorylating agent, diamidophosphate (DAP), highlighting the need for an analytical tool to critically evaluate the ability of DAP to induce oligomerization of simple organics under aqueous conditions. However, performing accurate and precise, targeted analyses of short oligopeptides remains a distinct challenge in the analytical chemistry field. Here, we developed a new technique to detect and quantitate amino acids and their homopeptides in a single run using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection/time of flight mass spectrometry. Over an 8-minute retention time window, 18 target analytes were identified and quantitated, 16 of which were chromatographically separated at, or near baseline resolution. Compound identity was confirmed by accurate mass analysis using a 10 ppm mass tolerance window. This method featured limits of detection < 5 nM (< 1 fmol on column) and limits of quantitation (LOQs) <15 nM (< 3 fmol on column). The LODs and LOQs were upwards of ∼28x and ∼788x lower, respectively, than previous methods for the same analytes, highlighting the quantifiable advantages of this new method. Both detectors provided good quantitative linearity (R2 > 0.985) for all analytes spanning concentration ranges ∼3 - 4 orders of magnitude. We performed a series of laboratory experiments to investigate DAP-mediated oligomerization of amino acids and peptides and analyzed experimental products with the new method. DAP readily polymerized amino acids and peptides under a range of simulated environmental conditions. This research underscores the potential of DAP to have generated oligopeptides on the primordial Earth, enhancing prebiotic chemical diversity and complexity at or near the origin of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric T Parker
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
| | - Megha Karki
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States.
| | - Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy
- Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
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28
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Characterization of HCN-Derived Thermal Polymer: Implications for Chemical Evolution. Processes (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/pr8080968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN)-derived polymers have been recognized as sources of relevant organic molecules in prebiotic chemistry and material sciences. However, there are considerable gaps in the knowledge regarding the polymeric nature, the physicochemical properties, and the chemical pathways along polymer synthesis. HCN might have played an important role in prebiotic hydrothermal environments; however, only few experiments use cyanide species considering hydrothermal conditions. In this work, we synthesized an HCN-derived thermal polymer simulating an alkaline hydrothermal environment (i.e., HCN (l) 0.15 M, 50 h, 100 °C, pH approximately 10) and characterized its chemical structure, thermal behavior, and the hydrolysis effect. Elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy suggest an important oxidation degree. The thermal behavior indicates that the polymer is more stable compared to other HCN-derived polymers. The mass spectrometric thermal analysis showed the gradual release of several volatile compounds along different thermal steps. The results suggest a complicate macrostructure formed by amide and hydroxyl groups, which are joined to the main reticular chain with conjugated bonds (C=O, N=O, –O–C=N). The hydrolysis treatment showed the pH conditions for the releasing of organics. The study of the synthesis of HCN-derived thermal polymers under feasible primitive hydrothermal conditions is relevant for considering hydrothermal vents as niches of chemical evolution on early Earth.
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29
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Enchev V, Angelov I, Dincheva I, Stoyanova N, Slavova S, Rangelov M, Markova N. Chemical evolution: from formamide to nucleobases and amino acids without the presence of catalyst. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 39:5563-5578. [PMID: 32677584 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1792986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Abiotic synthesis of nucleobases and amino acids is of critical importance as it sheds light on potential prebiotic chemical reactions. During thermal decomposition of formamide in vacuum conditions, purine, cytosine, adenine, hypoxanthine, uracil, pterin, urea, urocanic acid, glycine, alanine and norvaline were detected. The compounds were obtained without catalyst by heating at 100-180 °C or microwave heating of formamide. Reaction network of self-catalyzed chemical reactions is suggested, showing how from only one parent molecule, nucleobases, urea and the amino acid glycine can be produced. The reaction pathways are theoretically determined using SCS-MP2 calculations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venelin Enchev
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Ivan Angelov
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | | | - Nina Stoyanova
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Sofia Slavova
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Miroslav Rangelov
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Nadezhda Markova
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria
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30
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The Prebiotic Provenance of Semi-Aqueous Solvents. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2020; 50:1-14. [PMID: 32388697 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-020-09595-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The numerous and varied roles of phosphorylated organic molecules in biochemistry suggest they may have been important to the origin of life. The prominence of phosphorylated molecules presents a conundrum given that phosphorylation is a thermodynamically unfavorable, endergonic process in water, and most natural sources of phosphate are poorly soluble. We recently demonstrated that a semi-aqueous solvent consisting of urea, ammonium formate, and water (UAFW) supports the dissolution of phosphate and the phosphorylation of nucleosides. However, the prebiotic feasibility and robustness of the UAFW system are unclear. Here, we study the UAFW system as a medium in which phosphate minerals are potentially solubilized. Specifically, we conduct a series of chemical experiments alongside thermodynamic models that simulate the formation of ammonium formate from the hydrolysis of hydrogen cyanide, and demonstrate the stability of formamide in such solvents (as an aqueous mixture). The dissolution of hydroxylapatite requires a liquid medium, and we investigate whether a UAFW system is solid or liquid over varied conditions, finding that this characteristic is controlled by the molar ratios of the three components. For liquid UAFW mixtures, we also find the solubility of phosphate is higher when the quantity of ammonium formate is greater than urea. We suggest the urea within the system can lower the activity of water, help create a stable and persistent solution, and may act as a condensing agent/catalyst to improve nucleoside phosphorylation yields.
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31
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Benner SA, Bell EA, Biondi E, Brasser R, Carell T, Kim H, Mojzsis SJ, Omran A, Pasek MA, Trail D. When Did Life Likely Emerge on Earth in an RNA‐First Process? CHEMSYSTEMSCHEM 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/syst.201900035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven A. Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution Alachua FL USA
- Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC Alachua FL USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Bell
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space SciencesUniversity of California Los Angeles USA
| | - Elisa Biondi
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution Alachua FL USA
| | - Ramon Brasser
- Earth Life Science InstituteTokyo Institute of Technology Tokyo Japan
| | - Thomas Carell
- Fakultät für Chemie und PharmazieLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany
| | | | - Stephen J. Mojzsis
- Department of Geological SciencesUniversity of Colorado Boulder CO USA
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest Hungary
| | - Arthur Omran
- School of GeosciencesUniversity of South Florida Tampa, FL USA
| | | | - Dustin Trail
- Department of Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Rochester Rochester NY USA
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32
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Boyd ES, Amenabar MJ, Poudel S, Templeton AS. Bioenergetic constraints on the origin of autotrophic metabolism. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2020; 378:20190151. [PMID: 31902344 PMCID: PMC7015307 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Autotrophs form the base of all complex food webs and seemingly have done so since early in Earth history. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that early autotrophs were anaerobic, used CO2 as both an oxidant and carbon source, were dependent on H2 as an electron donor, and used iron-sulfur proteins (termed ferredoxins) as a primary electron carrier. However, the reduction potential of H2 is not typically low enough to efficiently reduce ferredoxin. Instead, in modern strictly anaerobic and H2-dependent autotrophs, ferredoxin reduction is accomplished using one of several recently evolved enzymatic mechanisms, including electron bifurcating and coupled ion translocating mechanisms. These observations raise the intriguing question of why anaerobic autotrophs adopted ferredoxins as central electron carriers only to have to evolve complex machinery to reduce them. Here, we report calculated reduction potentials for H2 as a function of observed environmental H2 concentration, pH and temperature. Results suggest that a combination of alkaline pH and high H2 concentration yield H2 reduction potentials low enough to efficiently reduce ferredoxins. Hyperalkaline, H2 rich environments have existed in discrete locations throughout Earth history where ultramafic minerals are undergoing hydration through the process of serpentinization. These results suggest that serpentinizing systems, which would have been common on early Earth, naturally produced conditions conducive to the emergence of H2-dependent autotrophic life. The primitive process of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis is used to examine potential changes in methanogenesis and Fd reduction pathways as these organisms diversified away from serpentinizing environments. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Serpentinite in the earth system'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric S. Boyd
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | | | - Saroj Poudel
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Alexis S. Templeton
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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33
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Abstract
The chemistry of abiotic nucleotide synthesis of RNA and DNA in the context of their prebiotic origins on early earth is a continuing challenge. How did (or how can) the nucleotides form and assemble from the small molecule inventories and under conditions that prevailed on early earth 3.5-4 billion years ago? This review provides a background and up-to-date progress that will allow the reader to judge where the field stands currently and what remains to be achieved. We start with a brief primer on the biological synthesis of nucleotides, followed by an extensive focus on the prebiotic formation of the components of nucleotides-either via the synthesis of ribose and the canonical nucleobases and then joining them together or by building both the conjoined sugar and nucleobase, part-by-part-toward the ultimate goal of forming RNA and DNA by polymerization. The review will emphasize that there are-and will continue to be-many more questions than answers from the synthetic, mechanistic, and analytical perspectives. We wrap up the review with a cautionary note in this context about coming to conclusions as to whether the problem of chemistry of prebiotic nucleotide synthesis has been solved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahipal Yadav
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ravi Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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34
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Pasek
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue NES 204, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
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35
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Benner SA, Kim HJ, Biondi E. Prebiotic Chemistry that Could Not Not Have Happened. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:life9040084. [PMID: 31739415 PMCID: PMC6958414 DOI: 10.3390/life9040084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a direct route by which RNA might have emerged in the Hadean from a fayalite–magnetite mantle, volcanic SO2 gas, and well-accepted processes that must have created substantial amounts of HCHO and catalytic amounts of glycolaldehyde in the Hadean atmosphere. In chemistry that could not not have happened, these would have generated stable bisulfite addition products that must have rained to the surface, where they unavoidably would have slowly released reactive species that generated higher carbohydrates. The formation of higher carbohydrates is self-limited by bisulfite formation, while borate minerals may have controlled aldol reactions that occurred on any semi-arid surface to capture that precipitation. All of these processes have well-studied laboratory correlates. Further, any semi-arid land with phosphate should have had phosphate anhydrides that, with NH3, gave carbohydrate derivatives that directly react with nucleobases to form the canonical nucleosides. These are phosphorylated by magnesium borophosphate minerals (e.g., lüneburgite) and/or trimetaphosphate-borate with Ni2+ catalysis to give nucleoside 5′-diphosphates, which oligomerize to RNA via a variety of mechanisms. The reduced precursors that are required to form the nucleobases came, in this path-hypothesis, from one or more mid-sized (1023–1020 kg) impactors that almost certainly arrived after the Moon-forming event. Their iron metal content almost certainly generated ammonia, nucleobase precursors, and other reduced species in the Hadean atmosphere after it transiently placed the atmosphere out of redox equilibrium with the mantle. In addition to the inevitability of steps in this path-hypothesis on a Hadean Earth if it had semi-arid land, these processes may also have occurred on Mars. Adapted from a lecture by the Corresponding Author at the All-Russia Science Festival at the Lomonosov Moscow State University on 12 October 2019, and is an outcome of a three year project supported by the John Templeton Foundation and the NASA Astrobiology program. Dedicated to David Deamer, on the occasion of his 80th Birthday.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven A. Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Blvd. Box 7, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
- Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Blvd. Box 17, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Hyo-Joong Kim
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Blvd. Box 7, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
- Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Blvd. Box 17, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
| | - Elisa Biondi
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Blvd. Box 7, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
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36
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Teplonogova MA, Yapryntsev AD, Baranchikov AE, Ivanov VK. Selective hydrothermal synthesis of ammonium vanadates(V) and (IV,V). TRANSIT METAL CHEM 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11243-018-0265-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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37
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Laneuville M, Kameya M, Cleaves HJ. Earth Without Life: A Systems Model of a Global Abiotic Nitrogen Cycle. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:897-914. [PMID: 29634320 PMCID: PMC6072078 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen is the major component of Earth's atmosphere and plays important roles in biochemistry. Biological systems have evolved a variety of mechanisms for fixing and recycling environmental nitrogen sources, which links them tightly with terrestrial nitrogen reservoirs. However, prior to the emergence of biology, all nitrogen cycling was abiological, and this cycling may have set the stage for the origin of life. It is of interest to understand how nitrogen cycling would proceed on terrestrial planets with comparable geodynamic activity to Earth, but on which life does not arise. We constructed a kinetic mass-flux model of nitrogen cycling in its various major chemical forms (e.g., N2, reduced (NHx) and oxidized (NOx) species) between major planetary reservoirs (the atmosphere, oceans, crust, and mantle) and included inputs from space. The total amount of nitrogen species that can be accommodated in each reservoir, and the ways in which fluxes and reservoir sizes may have changed over time in the absence of biology, are explored. Given a partition of volcanism between arc and hotspot types similar to the modern ones, our global nitrogen cycling model predicts a significant increase in oceanic nitrogen content over time, mostly as NHx, while atmospheric N2 content could be lower than today. The transport timescales between reservoirs are fast compared to the evolution of the environment; thus atmospheric composition is tightly linked to surface and interior processes. Key Words: Nitrogen cycle-Abiotic-Planetology-Astrobiology. Astrobiology 18, 897-914.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Laneuville
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- Address correspondence to:Matthieu LaneuvilleEarth-Life Science InstituteTokyo Institute of Technology2-12-IE-1 OokayamaMeguro-kuTokyo 152-8551Japan
| | - Masafumi Kameya
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H. James Cleaves
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Washington, DC, USA
- Center for Chemical Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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38
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Hao J, Giovenco E, Pedreira-Segade U, Montagnac G, Daniel I. Compatibility of Amino Acids in Ice Ih: Implications for the Origin of Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:381-392. [PMID: 29620923 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Icy environments may have been common on early Earth due to the faint young sun. Previous studies have proposed that the formation of large icy bodies in the early ocean could concentrate the building blocks of life in eutectic fluids and, therefore, facilitate the polymerization of monomers. This hypothesis is based on the untested assumption that organic molecules are virtually incompatible in ice Ih (hexagonal ice). In this study, we conducted freezing experiments to explore the partitioning behavior of selected amino acids (AAs; glycine, l-alanine, l-proline, and l-phenylalanine) between ice Ih and aqueous solutions analogous to seawater. We allowed ice crystals to grow slowly from a few seeds in equilibrium with the solution and used Raman spectroscopy to analyze in situ the relative concentrations of AAs in the ice and aqueous solution. During freezing, there was no precipitation of AA crystals, indicating that the concentrations in solution never reached their solubility limit, even when the droplet was mostly frozen. Analyses of the Raman spectra of the ice and eutectic solution suggested that considerable amounts of AAs existed in the ice phase with partition coefficients varying between 0.2 and 0.5. These observations imply little incompatibility of AAs in ice Ih during the freezing of the solutions, rendering the concentration hypothesis in a eutectic system unwarranted. However, incorporation into ice Ih could protect AAs from decomposition or racemization and significantly improve the efficiency of extraterrestrial transport of small organics. Therefore, this study supports the hypothesis of extraterrestrial delivery of organic molecules in icy comets and asteroids to the primitive Earth as suggested by an increasing number of independent observations. Key Words: Ice Ih-Partition coefficient-Amino acids-Polymerization-Extraterrestrial transport of organics. Astrobiology 18, 381-392.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihua Hao
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 , Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Elena Giovenco
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 , Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Ulysse Pedreira-Segade
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 , Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Gilles Montagnac
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 , Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Isabelle Daniel
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1 , Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
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39
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40
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Taubner RS, Pappenreiter P, Zwicker J, Smrzka D, Pruckner C, Kolar P, Bernacchi S, Seifert AH, Krajete A, Bach W, Peckmann J, Paulik C, Firneis MG, Schleper C, Rittmann SKMR. Biological methane production under putative Enceladus-like conditions. Nat Commun 2018; 9:748. [PMID: 29487311 PMCID: PMC5829080 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02876-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The detection of silica-rich dust particles, as an indication for ongoing hydrothermal activity, and the presence of water and organic molecules in the plume of Enceladus, have made Saturn's icy moon a hot spot in the search for potential extraterrestrial life. Methanogenic archaea are among the organisms that could potentially thrive under the predicted conditions on Enceladus, considering that both molecular hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) have been detected in the plume. Here we show that a methanogenic archaeon, Methanothermococcus okinawensis, can produce CH4 under physicochemical conditions extrapolated for Enceladus. Up to 72% carbon dioxide to CH4 conversion is reached at 50 bar in the presence of potential inhibitors. Furthermore, kinetic and thermodynamic computations of low-temperature serpentinization indicate that there may be sufficient H2 gas production to serve as a substrate for CH4 production on Enceladus. We conclude that some of the CH4 detected in the plume of Enceladus might, in principle, be produced by methanogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth-Sophie Taubner
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Astrophysics, Universität Wien, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patricia Pappenreiter
- Institute for Chemical Technology of Organic Materials, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, 4040, Linz, Austria
| | - Jennifer Zwicker
- Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology, Center for Earth Sciences, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Smrzka
- Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology, Center for Earth Sciences, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Pruckner
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philipp Kolar
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | | | - Wolfgang Bach
- Geoscience Department, Universität Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Jörn Peckmann
- Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology, Center for Earth Sciences, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Geology, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Universität Hamburg, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christian Paulik
- Institute for Chemical Technology of Organic Materials, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, 4040, Linz, Austria
| | - Maria G Firneis
- Department of Astrophysics, Universität Wien, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christa Schleper
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Simon K-M R Rittmann
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, Universität Wien, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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41
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Daebeler A, Herbold CW, Vierheilig J, Sedlacek CJ, Pjevac P, Albertsen M, Kirkegaard RH, de la Torre JR, Daims H, Wagner M. Cultivation and Genomic Analysis of " Candidatus Nitrosocaldus islandicus," an Obligately Thermophilic, Ammonia-Oxidizing Thaumarchaeon from a Hot Spring Biofilm in Graendalur Valley, Iceland. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:193. [PMID: 29491853 PMCID: PMC5817080 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) within the phylum Thaumarchaeota are the only known aerobic ammonia oxidizers in geothermal environments. Although molecular data indicate the presence of phylogenetically diverse AOA from the Nitrosocaldus clade, group 1.1b and group 1.1a Thaumarchaeota in terrestrial high-temperature habitats, only one enrichment culture of an AOA thriving above 50°C has been reported and functionally analyzed. In this study, we physiologically and genomically characterized a newly discovered thaumarchaeon from the deep-branching Nitrosocaldaceae family of which we have obtained a high (∼85%) enrichment from biofilm of an Icelandic hot spring (73°C). This AOA, which we provisionally refer to as "Candidatus Nitrosocaldus islandicus," is an obligately thermophilic, aerobic chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer, which stoichiometrically converts ammonia to nitrite at temperatures between 50 and 70°C. "Ca. N. islandicus" encodes the expected repertoire of enzymes proposed to be required for archaeal ammonia oxidation, but unexpectedly lacks a nirK gene and also possesses no identifiable other enzyme for nitric oxide (NO) generation. Nevertheless, ammonia oxidation by this AOA appears to be NO-dependent as "Ca. N. islandicus" is, like all other tested AOA, inhibited by the addition of an NO scavenger. Furthermore, comparative genomics revealed that "Ca. N. islandicus" has the potential for aromatic amino acid fermentation as its genome encodes an indolepyruvate oxidoreductase (iorAB) as well as a type 3b hydrogenase, which are not present in any other sequenced AOA. A further surprising genomic feature of this thermophilic ammonia oxidizer is the absence of DNA polymerase D genes - one of the predominant replicative DNA polymerases in all other ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota. Collectively, our findings suggest that metabolic versatility and DNA replication might differ substantially between obligately thermophilic and other AOA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Daebeler
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Craig W. Herbold
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Vierheilig
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christopher J. Sedlacek
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Petra Pjevac
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mads Albertsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Rasmus H. Kirkegaard
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Center for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - José R. de la Torre
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Holger Daims
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Wagner
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Research Network “Chemistry meets Microbiology”, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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42
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Šponer JE, Szabla R, Góra RW, Saitta AM, Pietrucci F, Saija F, Di Mauro E, Saladino R, Ferus M, Civiš S, Šponer J. Prebiotic synthesis of nucleic acids and their building blocks at the atomic level - merging models and mechanisms from advanced computations and experiments. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 18:20047-66. [PMID: 27136968 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp00670a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The origin of life on Earth is one of the most fascinating questions of contemporary science. Extensive research in the past decades furnished diverse experimental proposals for the emergence of first informational polymers that could form the basis of the early terrestrial life. Side by side with the experiments, the fast development of modern computational chemistry methods during the last 20 years facilitated the use of in silico modelling tools to complement the experiments. Modern computations can provide unique atomic-level insights into the structural and electronic aspects as well as the energetics of key prebiotic chemical reactions. Many of these insights are not directly obtainable from the experimental techniques and the computations are thus becoming indispensable for proper interpretation of many experiments and for qualified predictions. This review illustrates the synergy between experiment and theory in the origin of life research focusing on the prebiotic synthesis of various nucleic acid building blocks and on the self-assembly of nucleotides leading to the first functional oligonucleotides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judit E Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Královopolská 135, CZ-612 65 Brno, Czech Republic. and CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Campus Bohunice, Kamenice 5, CZ-62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Rafał Szabla
- Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Královopolská 135, CZ-612 65 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Robert W Góra
- Theoretical Chemistry Group, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Wrocław University of Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
| | - A Marco Saitta
- Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, CNRS, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 7590, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Fabio Pietrucci
- Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, CNRS, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 7590, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Franz Saija
- CNR-IPCF, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d'Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina, Italy
| | - Ernesto Di Mauro
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", "Sapienza" Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Raffaele Saladino
- Dipartimento di Scienze Ecologiche e Biologiche Università della Tuscia, Via San Camillo De Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Martin Ferus
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejškova 3, CZ-182 23 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Svatopluk Civiš
- J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejškova 3, CZ-182 23 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Královopolská 135, CZ-612 65 Brno, Czech Republic. and CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Campus Bohunice, Kamenice 5, CZ-62500 Brno, Czech Republic
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43
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Adam ZR, Hongo Y, Cleaves HJ, Yi R, Fahrenbach AC, Yoda I, Aono M. Estimating the capacity for production of formamide by radioactive minerals on the prebiotic Earth. Sci Rep 2018; 8:265. [PMID: 29321594 PMCID: PMC5762809 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18483-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Water creates special problems for prebiotic chemistry, as it is thermodynamically favorable for amide and phosphodiester bonds to hydrolyze. The availability of alternative solvents with more favorable properties for the formation of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth may have helped bypass this so-called "water paradox". Formamide (FA) is one such solvent, and can serve as a nucleobase precursor, but it is difficult to envision how FA could have been generated in large quantities or accumulated in terrestrial surface environments. We report here the conversion of aqueous acetonitrile (ACN) via hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as an intermediate into FA by γ-irradiation under conditions mimicking exposure to radioactive minerals. We estimate that a radioactive placer deposit could produce 0.1‒0.8 mol FA km-2 year-1. A uraninite fission zone comparable to the Oklo reactors in Gabon can produce 0.1‒1 mol m-2 year-1, orders of magnitude greater than other scenarios of FA production or delivery for which reaching sizeable concentrations of FA are problematic. Radioactive mineral deposits may be favorable settings for prebiotic compound formation through emergent geologic processes and FA-mediated organic chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary R Adam
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Yayoi Hongo
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H James Cleaves
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA
- Center for Chemical Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Ruiqin Yi
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Isao Yoda
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masashi Aono
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan
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44
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Takahashi S, Kagi H, Fujimoto C, Shinozaki A, Gotou H, Nishida T, Mimura K. Pressure-induced Freeze Concentration of Alanine Aqueous Solution as a Novel Field of Chemical Reaction. CHEM LETT 2017. [DOI: 10.1246/cl.160992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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45
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Heuristic Approach to Understanding the Accumulation Process in Hydrothermal Pores. ENTROPY 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/e19010033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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46
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Kua J, Thrush KL. HCN, Formamidic Acid, and Formamide in Aqueous Solution: A Free-Energy Map. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:8175-85. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b01690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Kua
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, California 92110, United States
| | - Kyra L. Thrush
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, California 92110, United States
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47
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Accumulation of formamide in hydrothermal pores to form prebiotic nucleobases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:4272-7. [PMID: 27044100 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1600275113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Formamide is one of the important compounds from which prebiotic molecules can be synthesized, provided that its concentration is sufficiently high. For nucleotides and short DNA strands, it has been shown that a high degree of accumulation in hydrothermal pores occurs, so that temperature gradients might play a role in the origin of life [Baaske P, et al. (2007)Proc Natl Acad Sci USA104(22):9346-9351]. We show that the same combination of thermophoresis and convection in hydrothermal pores leads to accumulation of formamide up to concentrations where nucleobases are formed. The thermophoretic properties of aqueous formamide solutions are studied by means of Infrared Thermal Diffusion Forced Rayleigh Scattering. These data are used in numerical finite element calculations in hydrothermal pores for various initial concentrations, ambient temperatures, and pore sizes. The high degree of formamide accumulation is due to an unusual temperature and concentration dependence of the thermophoretic behavior of formamide. The accumulation fold in part of the pores increases strongly with increasing aspect ratio of the pores, and saturates to highly concentrated aqueous formamide solutions of ∼85 wt% at large aspect ratios. Time-dependent studies show that these high concentrations are reached after 45-90 d, starting with an initial formamide weight fraction of[Formula: see text]wt % that is typical for concentrations in shallow lakes on early Earth.
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48
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Bada JL, Chalmers JH, Cleaves HJ. Is formamide a geochemically plausible prebiotic solvent? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2016; 18:20085-90. [DOI: 10.1039/c6cp03290g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
From a geochemical perspective, significant amounts of pure formamide (HCONH2) would have likely been rare on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey L. Bada
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- University of California at San Diego
- La Jolla
- USA
| | - John H. Chalmers
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- University of California at San Diego
- La Jolla
- USA
| | - H. James Cleaves
- Earth-Life Science Institute
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Institute for Advanced Study
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49
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Formamide reaction network in gas phase and solution via a unified theoretical approach: Toward a reconciliation of different prebiotic scenarios. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:15030-5. [PMID: 26598679 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1512486112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing experimental and theoretical evidence points to formamide as a possible hub in the complex network of prebiotic chemical reactions leading from simple precursors like H2, H2O, N2, NH3, CO, and CO2 to key biological molecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and sugars. We present an in-depth computational study of the formation and decomposition reaction channels of formamide by means of ab initio molecular dynamics. To this aim we introduce a new theoretical method combining the metadynamics sampling scheme with a general purpose topological formulation of collective variables able to track a wide range of different reaction mechanisms. Our approach is flexible enough to discover multiple pathways and intermediates starting from minimal insight on the systems, and it allows passing in a seamless way from reactions in gas phase to reactions in liquid phase, with the solvent active role fully taken into account. We obtain crucial new insight into the interplay of the different formamide reaction channels and into environment effects on pathways and barriers. In particular, our results indicate a similar stability of formamide and hydrogen cyanide in solution as well as their relatively facile interconversion, thus reconciling experiments and theory and, possibly, two different and competing prebiotic scenarios. Moreover, although not explicitly sought, formic acid/ammonium formate is produced as an important formamide decomposition byproduct in solution.
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50
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Maccario L, Sanguino L, Vogel TM, Larose C. Snow and ice ecosystems: not so extreme. Res Microbiol 2015; 166:782-95. [PMID: 26408452 DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2015.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2015] [Revised: 09/02/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Snow and ice environments cover up to 21% of the Earth's surface. They have been regarded as extreme environments because of their low temperatures, high UV irradiation, low nutrients and low water availability, and thus, their microbial activity has not been considered relevant from a global microbial ecology viewpoint. In this review, we focus on why snow and ice habitats might not be extreme from a microbiological perspective. Microorganisms interact closely with the abiotic conditions imposed by snow and ice habitats by having diverse adaptations, that include genetic resistance mechanisms, to different types of stresses in addition to inhabiting various niches where these potential stresses might be reduced. The microbial communities inhabiting snow and ice are not only abundant and taxonomically diverse, but complex in terms of their interactions. Altogether, snow and ice seem to be true ecosystems with a role in global biogeochemical cycles that has likely been underestimated. Future work should expand past resistance studies to understanding the function of these ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorrie Maccario
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France
| | - Laura Sanguino
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France
| | - Timothy M Vogel
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France
| | - Catherine Larose
- Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France.
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