1
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Cohen ZR, Todd ZR, Maibaum L, Catling DC, Black RA. Stabilization of Prebiotic Vesicles by Peptides Depends on Sequence and Chirality: A Mechanism for Selection of Protocell-Associated Peptides. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:8971-8980. [PMID: 38629792 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Cells require oligonucleotides and polypeptides with specific, homochiral sequences to perform essential functions, but it is unclear how such oligomers were selected from random sequences at the origin of life. Cells were probably preceded by simple compartments such as fatty acid vesicles, and oligomers that increased the stability, growth, or division of vesicles could have thereby increased in frequency. We therefore tested whether prebiotic peptides alter the stability or growth of vesicles composed of a prebiotic fatty acid. We find that three of 15 dipeptides tested reduce salt-induced flocculation of vesicles. All three contain leucine, and increasing their length increases the efficacy. Also, leucine-leucine but not alanine-alanine increases the size of vesicles grown by multiple additions of micelles. In a molecular simulation, leucine-leucine docks to the membrane, with the side chains inserted into the hydrophobic core of the bilayer, while alanine-alanine fails to dock. Finally, the heterochiral forms of leucine-leucine, at a high concentration, rapidly shrink the vesicles and make them leakier and less stable to high pH than the homochiral forms do. Thus, prebiotic peptide-membrane interactions influence the flocculation, growth, size, leakiness, and pH stability of prebiotic vesicles, with differential effects due to sequence, length, and chirality. These differences could lead to a population of vesicles enriched for peptides with beneficial sequence and chirality, beginning selection for the functional oligomers that underpin life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary R Cohen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Zoe R Todd
- Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Lutz Maibaum
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - David C Catling
- Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Roy A Black
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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2
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Westall F, Brack A, Fairén AG, Schulte MD. Setting the geological scene for the origin of life and continuing open questions about its emergence. FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES 2023; 9:1095701. [PMID: 38274407 PMCID: PMC7615569 DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1095701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The origin of life is one of the most fundamental questions of humanity. It has been and is still being addressed by a wide range of researchers from different fields, with different approaches and ideas as to how it came about. What is still incomplete is constrained information about the environment and the conditions reigning on the Hadean Earth, particularly on the inorganic ingredients available, and the stability and longevity of the various environments suggested as locations for the emergence of life, as well as on the kinetics and rates of the prebiotic steps leading to life. This contribution reviews our current understanding of the geological scene in which life originated on Earth, zooming in specifically on details regarding the environments and timescales available for prebiotic reactions, with the aim of providing experimenters with more specific constraints. Having set the scene, we evoke the still open questions about the origin of life: did life start organically or in mineralogical form? If organically, what was the origin of the organic constituents of life? What came first, metabolism or replication? What was the time-scale for the emergence of life? We conclude that the way forward for prebiotic chemistry is an approach merging geology and chemistry, i.e., far-from-equilibrium, wet-dry cycling (either subaerial exposure or dehydration through chelation to mineral surfaces) of organic reactions occurring repeatedly and iteratively at mineral surfaces under hydrothermal-like conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - André Brack
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS, Orléans, France
| | - Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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3
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Todd ZR, Cohen ZR, Catling DC, Keller SL, Black RA. Growth of Prebiotically Plausible Fatty Acid Vesicles Proceeds in the Presence of Prebiotic Amino Acids, Dipeptides, Sugars, and Nucleic Acid Components. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:15106-15112. [PMID: 36445982 PMCID: PMC9753748 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Fatty acid vesicles may have played a role in the origin of life as a major structural component of protocells, with the potential for encapsulation of genetic materials. Vesicles that grew and divided more rapidly than other vesicles could have had a selective advantage. Fatty acid vesicles grow by incorporating additional fatty acids from micelles, and certain prebiotic molecules (e.g., sugars, nucleobases, and amino acids) can bind to fatty acid vesicles and stabilize them. Here, we investigated whether the presence of a variety of biomolecules affects the overall growth of vesicles composed of decanoic acid, a prebiotically plausible fatty acid, upon micelle addition. We tested 31 molecules, including 15 dipeptides, 7 amino acids, 6 nucleobases or nucleosides, and 3 sugars. We find that the initial radius and final radius of vesicles are largely unaffected by the presence of the additional compounds. However, three dipeptides enhanced the initial rates of growth compared to control vesicles with no small molecules added; another three dipeptides decreased the initial rates of growth. We conclude that vesicles can indeed grow in the presence of a wide range of molecules likely to have been involved in the origin of life. These results imply that vesicles would have been able to grow in complex and heterogeneous chemical environments. We find that the molecules that enhance the initial growth rate tend to have hydrophobic groups (e.g., leucine), which may interact with the lipid membrane to affect growth rate; furthermore, the molecules that cause the largest decrease in initial growth rate are dipeptides containing a serine residue, which contains a hydroxyl group that could potentially hydrogen-bond with the fatty acid carboxylate groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R. Todd
- Department
of Earth and Space Sciences, University
of Washington, Seattle, Washington98195, United States
| | - Zachary R. Cohen
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington98195, United States
| | - David C. Catling
- Department
of Earth and Space Sciences, University
of Washington, Seattle, Washington98195, United States
| | - Sarah L. Keller
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington98195, United States
| | - Roy A. Black
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington98195, United States
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4
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Misuraca L, Matsuo T, Cisse A, LoRicco J, Caliò A, Zanotti JM, Demé B, Oger P, Peters J. High temperature molecular motions within a model protomembrane architecture. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:15083-15090. [PMID: 35698855 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp01205g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Modern phospholipid membranes are known to be in a functional, physiological state, corresponding to the liquid crystalline phase, only under very precise external conditions. The phase is characterised by specific lipid motions, which seem mandatory to permit sufficient flexibility and stability for the membrane. It can be assumed that similar principles hold for proto-membranes at the origin of life although they were likely composed of simpler, single chain fatty acids and alcohols. In the present study we investigated molecular motions of four types of model membranes to shed light on the variations of dynamics and structure from low to high temperature as protocells might have existed close to hot vents. We find a clear hierarchy among the flexibilities of the samples, where some structural parameters seem to depend on the lipid type used while others do not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loreto Misuraca
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPhy, 38000 Grenoble, France. .,Institut Laue Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Tatsuhito Matsuo
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPhy, 38000 Grenoble, France. .,Institut Laue Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.,Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 2-4 Shirakata, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319-1106, Japan
| | - Aline Cisse
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPhy, 38000 Grenoble, France. .,Institut Laue Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | | | - Antonio Caliò
- INSA Lyon, Université de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5240, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Jean-Marc Zanotti
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Bruno Demé
- Institut Laue Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Philippe Oger
- INSA Lyon, Université de Lyon, CNRS, UMR5240, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Judith Peters
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPhy, 38000 Grenoble, France. .,Institut Laue Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, France
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5
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Sahai N, Adebayo S, Schoonen MA. Freshwater and Evaporite Brine Compositions on Hadean Earth: Priming the Origins of Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:641-671. [PMID: 35447041 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The chemical composition of aqueous solutions during the Hadean era determined the availability of essential elements for prebiotic synthesis of the molecular building blocks of life. Here we conducted quantitative reaction path modeling of atmosphere-water-rock interactions over a range of environmental conditions to estimate freshwater and evaporite brine compositions. We then evaluated the solution chemistries for their potential to influence ribonucleotide synthesis and polymerization as well as protocell membrane stability. Specifically, solutions formed by komatiite and tonalite (primitive crustal rocks) weathering and evaporation-rehydration (drying-wetting) cycles were studied assuming neutral atmospheric composition over a wide range of values of atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2) and temperatures (T). Solution pH decreased and total dissolved concentrations of inorganic P, Mg, Ca, Fe, and C (PT, MgT, CaT, FeT, and CT) increased with increasing PCO2. The PCO2 and T dictated how the solution evolved with regard to minerals precipitated and ions left in solution. At T = 75°C and PCO2 < 0.05 atm, the concentration ratio of magnesium to calcium ion concentrations (Mg2+/Ca2+) was < 1 and predominantly metal aluminosilicates (including clays), dolomite, gibbsite, and pyrite (FeS2) precipitated, whereas at PCO2 > 0.05 atm, Mg2+/Ca2+ was > 1 and mainly magnesite, dolomite, pyrite, chalcedony (SiO2), and kaolinite (Al2Si2O5) precipitated. At T = 75°C and PCO2 > 0.05 atm, hydroxyapatite (HAP) precipitated during weathering but not during evaporation, and so, PT increased with each evaporation-rehydration cycle, while MgT, CaT, and FeT decreased as other minerals precipitated. At T = 75°C and PCO2 ∼5 atm, reactions with komatiite provided end-of-weathering solutions with high enough Mg2+ concentrations to promote RNA-template directed and montmorillonite-promoted nonenzymatic RNA polymerization, but incompatible with protocell membranes; however, montmorillonite-promoted RNA polymerization could proceed with little or no Mg2+ present. Cyclically evaporating/rehydrating brines from komatiite weathering at T = 75°C and PCO2 ∼5 atm yielded the following: (1) high PT values that could promote ribonucleotide synthesis, and (2) low divalent cation concentrations compatible with amino acid-promoted, montmorillonite-catalyzed RNA polymerization and with protocell membranes, but too low for template-directed nonenzymatic RNA polymerization. For all PCO2 values, Mg2+ and PT concentrations decreased, whereas the HCO3- concentration increased within increasing temperature, due to the retrograde solubility of the minerals controlling these ions' concentrations; Fe2+ concentration increased because of prograde pyrite solubility. Tonalite weathering and cyclical wetting-drying reactions did not produce solution compositions favorable for promoting prebiotic RNA formation. Conversely, the ion concentrations compatible with protocell emergence, placed constraints on PCO2 of early Earth's atmosphere. In summary: (1) prebiotic RNA synthesis and membrane self-assembly could have been achieved even under neutral atmosphere conditions by atmosphere-water-komatiite rock interactions; and (2) constraints on element availability for the origins of life and early PCO2 were addressed by a single, globally operating mechanism of atmosphere-water-rock interactions without invoking special microenvironments. The present results support a facile origins-of-life hypothesis even under a neutral atmosphere as long as other favorable geophysical and planetary conditions are also met.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nita Sahai
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Department of Geoscience, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Segun Adebayo
- School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
| | - Martin A Schoonen
- Environmental and Climate Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA
- Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
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6
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Köksal ES, Põldsalu I, Friis H, Mojzsis SJ, Bizzarro M, Gözen I. Spontaneous Formation of Prebiotic Compartment Colonies on Hadean Earth and Pre‐Noachian Mars**. CHEMSYSTEMSCHEM 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/syst.202100040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elif S. Köksal
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo 0318 Oslo Norway
| | - Inga Põldsalu
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo 0318 Oslo Norway
| | - Henrik Friis
- Natural History Museum University of Oslo Postboks 1172 Blindern 0318 Oslo Norway
| | - Stephen J. Mojzsis
- Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences 15–17 Konkoly Thege Miklós Road Budapest 1121 Hungary
- Department of Lithospheric Research University of Vienna UZA 2, Althanstraße 14 1090 Vienna Austria
- Department of Geological Sciences University of Colorado UCB 399, 2200 Colorado Avenue Boulder CO 80309-0399 USA
| | - Martin Bizzarro
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation GLOBE Institute University of Copenhagen 1350 Copenhagen K Denmark
| | - Irep Gözen
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo 0318 Oslo Norway
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences University of Oslo 0315 Oslo Norway
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7
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Jaramillo EA, Ferreira Santos MS, Noell AC, Mora MF. Capillary electrophoresis method for analysis of inorganic and organic anions related to habitability and the search for life. Electrophoresis 2021; 42:1956-1964. [PMID: 34287988 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In situ missions of exploration require analytical methods that are capable of detecting a wide range of molecular targets in complex matrices without a priori assumptions of sample composition. Furthermore, these methods should minimize the number of reagents needed and any sample preparation steps. We have developed a method for the detection of metabolically relevant inorganic and organic anions that is suitable for implementation on in situ spaceflight missions. Using 55 mM acetic acid, 50 mM triethylamine, and 5% glycerol, more than 21 relevant anions are separated in less than 20 min. The method is robust to sample ionic strength, tolerating high concentrations of background salts (up to 900 mM NaCl and 300 mM MgSO4 ). This is an important feature for future missions to ocean worlds. The method was validated using a culture of Escherichia coli and with high salinity natural samples collected from Mono Lake, California.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Aaron C Noell
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Maria F Mora
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
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8
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Gaylor MO, Miro P, Vlaisavljevich B, Kondage AAS, Barge LM, Omran A, Videau P, Swenson VA, Leinen LJ, Fitch NW, Cole KL, Stone C, Drummond SM, Rageth K, Dewitt LR, González Henao S, Karanauskus V. Plausible Emergence and Self Assembly of a Primitive Phospholipid from Reduced Phosphorus on the Primordial Earth. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2021; 51:185-213. [PMID: 34279769 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-021-09613-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
How life arose on the primitive Earth is one of the biggest questions in science. Biomolecular emergence scenarios have proliferated in the literature but accounting for the ubiquity of oxidized (+ 5) phosphate (PO43-) in extant biochemistries has been challenging due to the dearth of phosphate and molecular oxygen on the primordial Earth. A compelling body of work suggests that exogenous schreibersite ((Fe,Ni)3P) was delivered to Earth via meteorite impacts during the Heavy Bombardment (ca. 4.1-3.8 Gya) and there converted to reduced P oxyanions (e.g., phosphite (HPO32-) and hypophosphite (H2PO2-)) and phosphonates. Inspired by this idea, we review the relevant literature to deduce a plausible reduced phospholipid analog of modern phosphatidylcholines that could have emerged in a primordial hydrothermal setting. A shallow alkaline lacustrine basin underlain by active hydrothermal fissures and meteoritic schreibersite-, clay-, and metal-enriched sediments is envisioned. The water column is laden with known and putative primordial hydrothermal reagents. Small system dimensions and thermal- and UV-driven evaporation further concentrate chemical precursors. We hypothesize that a reduced phospholipid arises from Fischer-Tropsch-type (FTT) production of a C8 alkanoic acid, which condenses with an organophosphinate (derived from schreibersite corrosion to hypophosphite with subsequent methylation/oxidation), to yield a reduced protophospholipid. This then condenses with an α-amino nitrile (derived from Strecker-type reactions) to form the polar head. Preliminary modeling results indicate that reduced phospholipids do not aggregate rapidly; however, single layer micelles are stable up to aggregates with approximately 100 molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael O Gaylor
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA.
| | - Pere Miro
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA
| | - Bess Vlaisavljevich
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA
| | | | - Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
| | - Arthur Omran
- School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA
| | - Patrick Videau
- Department of Biology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, 97520, USA.,Bayer Crop Science, Chesterfield, MO, 63017, USA
| | - Vaille A Swenson
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | - Lucas J Leinen
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
| | - Nathaniel W Fitch
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
| | - Krista L Cole
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
| | - Chris Stone
- Department of Biology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, 97520, USA
| | - Samuel M Drummond
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
| | - Kayli Rageth
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
| | - Lillian R Dewitt
- Department of Chemistry, Dakota State University, Madison, SD, 57042, USA
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9
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Role of the Interchangeable Cations on the Sorption of Fumaric and Succinic Acids on Montmorillonite and its Relevance in Prebiotic Chemistry. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2021; 51:87-116. [PMID: 34251577 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-021-09609-0] [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: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that clays could have served as key factors in promoting the increase in complexity of organic matter in primitive terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. The aim of this work is to study the adsorption-desorption of two dicarboxylic acids, fumaric and succinic acids, onto clay minerals (sodium and iron montmorillonite). These two acids may have played a role in prebiotic chemistry, and in extant biochemistry, they constitute an important redox couple (e.g. in Krebs cycle) in extant biochemistry. Smectite clays might have played a key role in the origins of life. The effect of pH on sorption has been tested; the analysis was performed by UV-vis and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. The results show that chemisorption is the main responsible of the adsorption processes among the dicarboxylic acids and clays. The role of the ion, present in the clay, is fundamental in the adsorption processes of dicarboxylic acids. These ions (sodium and iron) were selected due to their relevance on the geochemical environments that possibly existed into the primitive Earth. Different mechanisms are proposed to explain the sorption of dicarboxylic acids in the clay. In this work, we propose the formation of complexes among metal cations in the clays and dicarboxylic acids. The organic complexes were probably formed in the prebiotic environments enabling chemical processes, prior to the appearance of life. Thus, the data presented here are relevant to the origin of life studies.
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10
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Abstract
Lipid membranes in cells are fluid structures that undergo constant synthesis, remodeling, fission, and fusion. The dynamic nature of lipid membranes enables their use as adaptive compartments, making them indispensable for all life on Earth. Efforts to create life-like artificial cells will likely involve mimicking the structure and function of lipid membranes to recapitulate fundamental cellular processes such as growth and division. As such, there is considerable interest in chemistry that mimics the functional properties of membranes, with the express intent of recapitulating biological phenomena. We suggest expanding the definition of membrane mimetic chemistry to capture these efforts. In this Perspective, we discuss how membrane mimetic chemistry serves the development of artificial cells. By leveraging recent advances in chemical biology and systems chemistry, we have an opportunity to use simplified chemical and biochemical systems to mimic the remarkable properties of living membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Vance
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Neal K Devaraj
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, California 92093, United States
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11
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Moosmann B, Schindeldecker M, Hajieva P. Cysteine, glutathione and a new genetic code: biochemical adaptations of the primordial cells that spread into open water and survived biospheric oxygenation. Biol Chem 2021; 401:213-231. [PMID: 31318686 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2019-0232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Life most likely developed under hyperthermic and anaerobic conditions in close vicinity to a stable geochemical source of energy. Epitomizing this conception, the first cells may have arisen in submarine hydrothermal vents in the middle of a gradient established by the hot and alkaline hydrothermal fluid and the cooler and more acidic water of the ocean. To enable their escape from this energy-providing gradient layer, the early cells must have overcome a whole series of obstacles. Beyond the loss of their energy source, the early cells had to adapt to a loss of external iron-sulfur catalysis as well as to a formidable temperature drop. The developed solutions to these two problems seem to have followed the principle of maximum parsimony: Cysteine was introduced into the genetic code to anchor iron-sulfur clusters, and fatty acid unsaturation was installed to maintain lipid bilayer viscosity. Unfortunately, both solutions turned out to be detrimental when the biosphere became more oxidizing after the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. To render cysteine thiol groups and fatty acid unsaturation compatible with life under oxygen, numerous counter-adaptations were required including the advent of glutathione and the addition of the four latest amino acids (methionine, tyrosine, tryptophan, selenocysteine) to the genetic code. In view of the continued diversification of derived antioxidant mechanisms, it appears that modern life still struggles with the initially developed strategies to escape from its hydrothermal birthplace. Only archaea may have found a more durable solution by entirely exchanging their lipid bilayer components and rigorously restricting cysteine usage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernd Moosmann
- Evolutionary Biochemistry and Redox Medicine, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Mario Schindeldecker
- Evolutionary Biochemistry and Redox Medicine, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Parvana Hajieva
- Cellular Adaptation Group, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
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12
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Navrotsky A, Hervig R, Lyons J, Seo DK, Shock E, Voskanyan A. Cooperative formation of porous silica and peptides on the prebiotic Earth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2021117118. [PMID: 33376204 PMCID: PMC7812765 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021117118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern technology has perfected the synthesis of catalysts such as zeolites and mesoporous silicas using organic structure directing agents (SDA) and their industrial use to catalyze a large variety of organic reactions within their pores. We suggest that early in prebiotic evolution, synergistic interplay arose between organic species in aqueous solution and silica formed from rocks by dynamic dissolution-recrystallization. The natural organics, for example, amino acids, small peptides, and fatty acids, acted as SDA for assembly of functional porous silica structures that induced further polymerization of amino acids and peptides, as well as other organic reactions. Positive feedback between synthesis and catalysis in the silica-organic system may have accelerated the early stages of abiotic evolution by increasing the formation of polymerized species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Navrotsky
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287;
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Richard Hervig
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - James Lyons
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Dong-Kyun Seo
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Everett Shock
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Albert Voskanyan
- Center for Materials of the Universe, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
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13
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Aponte JC, Elsila JE, Hein JE, Dworkin JP, Glavin DP, McLain HL, Parker ET, Cao T, Berger EL, Burton AS. Analysis of amino acids, hydroxy acids, and amines in CR chondrites. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2020; 55:2422-2439. [PMID: 33536738 PMCID: PMC7839561 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The abundances, relative distributions, and enantiomeric and isotopic compositions of amines, amino acids, and hydroxy acids in Miller Range (MIL) 090001 and MIL 090657 meteorites were determined. Chiral distributions and isotopic compositions confirmed that most of the compounds detected were indigenous to the meteorites and not the result of terrestrial contamination. Combined with data in the literature, suites of these compounds have now been analyzed in a set of six CR chondrites, spanning aqueous alteration types 2.0-2.8. Amino acid abundances ranged from 17 to 3300 nmol g-1 across the six CRs; hydroxy acid abundances ranged from 180 to 1800 nmol g-1; and amine abundances ranged from 40 to 2100 nmol g-1. For amino acids and amines, the weakly altered chondrites contained the highest abundances, whereas hydroxy acids were most abundant in the more altered CR2.0 chondrite. Because water contents in the meteorites are orders of magnitude greater than soluble organics, synthesis of hydroxy acids, which requires water, may be less affected by aqueous alteration than amines and amino acids that require nitrogen-bearing precursors. Two chiral amino acids that were plausibly extraterrestrial in origin were present with slight enantiomeric excesses: L-isovaline (~10% excess) and D-β-amino-n-butyric acid (~9% excess); further studies are needed to verify that the chiral excess in the latter compound is truly extraterrestrial in origin. The isotopic compositions of compounds reported here did not reveal definitive links between the different compound classes such as common synthetic precursors, but will provide a framework for further future in-depth analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- José C. Aponte
- Department of ChemistryCatholic University of AmericaWashingtonDistrict of Columbia20064USA
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Jason E. Hein
- University of British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaV6T 1Z2Canada
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Daniel P. Glavin
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Hannah L. McLain
- Department of ChemistryCatholic University of AmericaWashingtonDistrict of Columbia20064USA
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Eric T. Parker
- Solar System Exploration DivisionNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMaryland20771USA
| | - Timothy Cao
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of CaliforniaMercedCalifornia95343USA
| | - Eve L. Berger
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science DivisionTexas State University / Jacobs JETS ContractNASA Johnson Space CenterHoustonTexas77058USA
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science DivisionNASA Johnson Space CenterHoustonTexas77058USA
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14
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Lipid constituents of model protocell membranes. Emerg Top Life Sci 2019; 3:537-542. [DOI: 10.1042/etls20190021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Primitive life must have possessed the essential features of modern cellular life, but without highly evolved proteins to perform dynamic functions such as nutrient transport and membrane remodeling. Here, we consider the membrane properties of protocells — minimal cells with hereditary material, capable of growth and division — and how these properties place restrictions on the components of the membrane. For example, the lipids of modern membranes are diacyl amphiphilic molecules containing well-over 20 carbons in total. Without proteins, these membranes are very stable and kinetically trapped. This inertness, combined with the need for enzymes to synthesize them, makes modern diacyl amphiphiles unsuitable candidates for the earliest membranes on Earth. We, therefore, discuss the progress made thus far with single-chained amphiphiles, including fatty acids and mixtures of fatty acids with related molecules, and the membrane-related research that must be undertaken to gain more insight into the origins of cellular life.
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15
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Simkus DN, Aponte JC, Elsila JE, Parker ET, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP. Methodologies for Analyzing Soluble Organic Compounds in Extraterrestrial Samples: Amino Acids, Amines, Monocarboxylic Acids, Aldehydes, and Ketones. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:E47. [PMID: 31174308 PMCID: PMC6617175 DOI: 10.3390/life9020047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 05/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Soluble organic compositions of extraterrestrial samples offer valuable insights into the prebiotic organic chemistry of the solar system. This review provides a summary of the techniques commonly used for analyzing amino acids, amines, monocarboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones in extraterrestrial samples. Here, we discuss possible effects of various experimental factors (e.g., extraction protocols, derivatization methods, and chromatographic techniques) in order to highlight potential influences on the results obtained from different methodologies. This detailed summary and assessment of current techniques is intended to serve as a basic guide for selecting methodologies for soluble organic analyses and to emphasize some key considerations for future method development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle N Simkus
- NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - José C Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, USA.
| | - Jamie E Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Eric T Parker
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
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16
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Aponte JC, Whitaker D, Powner MW, Elsila JE, Dworkin JP. Analyses of Aliphatic Aldehydes and Ketones in Carbonaceous Chondrites. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2019; 3:463-472. [PMID: 32617450 PMCID: PMC7330996 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Aliphatic aldehydes and ketones are essential building blocks for the synthesis of more complex organic compounds. Despite their potentially key role as precursors of astrobiologically important molecules, such as amino acids and carboxylic acids, this family of compounds has scarcely been evaluated in carbonaceous chondrites. The paucity of such analyses likely derives from the low concentration of aldehydes and ketones in the meteorites and from the currently used chromatographic methodologies that have not been optimized for meteorite analysis. In this work, we report the development of a novel analytical method to quantify the molecular distribution and compound-specific isotopic analysis of 29 aliphatic aldehydes and ketones. Using this method, we have investigated the molecular distribution and 13C-isotopic composition of aldehydes and ketones in 10 carbonaceous chondrites from the CI, CM, CR, and CV groups. The total concentration of carbonyl compounds ranged from 130 to 1000 nmol g-1 of meteorite with formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone being the most abundant species in all investigated samples. The 13C-isotopic values ranged from -67 to +64‰ and we did not observe clear relationships between 13C-content and molecular weight. Accurately measuring the relative abundances, determining the molecular distribution, and isotopic composition of chondritic organic compounds is central in assessing both their formation chemistry and synthetic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- José C. Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, United States
| | - Daniel Whitaker
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew W. Powner
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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17
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Aponte JC, Woodward HK, Abreu NM, Elsila JE, Dworkin JP. Molecular Distribution, 13C-Isotope, and Enantiomeric Compositions of Carbonaceous Chondrite Monocarboxylic Acids. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2019; 54:415-430. [PMID: 32499671 PMCID: PMC7271972 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The water-soluble organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites constitute a record of the synthetic reactions occurring at the birth of the solar system and those taking place during parent body alteration and may have been important for the later origins and development of life on Earth. In this present work, we have developed a novel methodology for the simultaneous analysis of the molecular distribution, compound-specific δ13C and enantiomeric compositions of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids (MCA) extracted from the hot-water extracts of sixteen carbonaceous chondrites from CM, CR, CO, CV and CK groups. We observed high concentrations of meteoritic MCAs, with total carbon weight percentages which in some cases approached those of carbonates and insoluble organic matter. Moreover, we found that the concentration of MCAs in CR chondrites is higher than in the other meteorite groups, with acetic acid exhibiting the highest concentration in all samples. The abundance of MCAs decreased with increasing molecular weight and with increasing aqueous and/or thermal alteration experienced by the meteorite sample. The δ13C isotopic values of MCAs ranged from -52 to +27‰, and aside from an inverse relationship between δ13C value and carbon straight-chain length for C3-C6 MCAs in Murchison, the 13C-isotopic values did not correlate with the number of carbon atoms per molecule. We also observed racemic compositions of 2-methylbutanoic acid in CM and CR chondrites. We used this novel analytical protocol and collective data to shed new light on the prebiotic origins of chondritic MCAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- José C. Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
| | - Hannah K. Woodward
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6UA, UK
| | - Neyda M. Abreu
- Earth Science Program, Pennsylvania State University – Du Bois Campus, Du Bois, Pennsylvania 15801, USA
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
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18
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Radiolysis of succinic acid and its ammonium salt in aqueous solution: relevance in chemical evolution. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-018-6197-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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19
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Burton AS, Berger EL. Insights into Abiotically-Generated Amino Acid Enantiomeric Excesses Found in Meteorites. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8020014. [PMID: 29757224 PMCID: PMC6027462 DOI: 10.3390/life8020014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Biology exhibits homochirality, in that only one of two possible molecular configurations (called enantiomers) is used in both proteins and nucleic acids. The origin of this phenomenon is currently unknown, as nearly all known abiotic mechanisms for generating these compounds result in equal (racemic) mixtures of both enantiomers. However, analyses of primitive meteorites have revealed that a number of amino acids of extraterrestrial origin are present in enantiomeric excess, suggesting that there was an abiotic route to synthesize amino acids in a non-racemic manner. Here we review the amino acid contents of a range of meteorites, describe mechanisms for amino acid formation and their potential to produce amino acid enantiomeric excesses, and identify processes that could have amplified enantiomeric excesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron S Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
| | - Eve L Berger
- GeoControl Systems, Jacobs JETS contract, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
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20
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Pietrucci F, Aponte JC, Starr R, Pérez-Villa A, Elsila JE, Dworkin JP, Saitta AM. Hydrothermal Decomposition of Amino Acids and Origins of Prebiotic Meteoritic Organic Compounds. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2018; 2:588-598. [PMID: 32637854 PMCID: PMC7340093 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.8b00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The organic compounds found in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites provide insight into primordial solar system chemistry. Evaluating the formation and decomposition mechanisms of meteoritic amino acids may aid our understanding of the origins of life and homochirality on Earth. The amino acid glycine is widespread in meteorites and other extraterrestrial environments; other amino acids, such as isovaline, are found with enantiomeric excesses in some meteorites. The relationship between meteoritic amino acids and other compounds with similar molecular structures, such as aliphatic monoamines and monocarboxylic acids is unclear; experimental results evaluating the decomposition of amino acids have produced inconclusive results about the preferred pathways, reaction intermediates, and if the conditions applied may be compatible with those occurring inside meteoritic parent bodies. In this work, we performed extensive tandem metadynamics, umbrella sampling, and committor analysis to simulate the neutral mild hydrothermal decomposition mechanisms of glycine and isovaline and put them into context for the origins of meteoritic organic compounds. Our ab initio simulations aimed to determine free energy profiles and decomposition pathways for glycine and isovaline. We found that under our modeled conditions, methylammonium, glycolic acid, and sec-butylamine are the most likely decomposition products. These results suggest that meteoritic aliphatic monocarboxylic acids are not produced from decomposition of meteoritic amino acids. Our results also indicate that the decomposition of L-isovaline prefers an enantioselective pathway resulting in the production of (S)-sec-butylamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Pietrucci
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR CNRS 7590, IRD, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, IMPMC, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - José C. Aponte
- The Goddard Center for Astrobiology and Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20064, United States of America
- To whom correspondence may be addressed. (tel.: +1.301.614.6916) or (tel.: +33.01.4427.2244)
| | - Richard Starr
- The Goddard Center for Astrobiology and Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States of America
- Physics Department, The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20064, United States of America
| | - Andrea Pérez-Villa
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR CNRS 7590, IRD, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, IMPMC, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- The Goddard Center for Astrobiology and Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States of America
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- The Goddard Center for Astrobiology and Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States of America
| | - A. Marco Saitta
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR CNRS 7590, IRD, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, IMPMC, F-75005, Paris, France
- To whom correspondence may be addressed. (tel.: +1.301.614.6916) or (tel.: +33.01.4427.2244)
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21
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Liu B, Gao M, Li H, Liu J, Yuan S, Du N, Hou W. Model of protocell compartments – dodecyl hydrogen sulfate vesicles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:1332-1336. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp06379b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
It is the first time to report simple single-alkyl sulfonic acid vesicles functioning as a model of protocell compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry (Ministry of Education)
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Meihua Gao
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry (Ministry of Education)
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Haiping Li
- National Engineering Technology Research Center for Colloidal Materials
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Jianqiang Liu
- School of Physics
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Shiling Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry (Ministry of Education)
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Na Du
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry (Ministry of Education)
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
| | - Wanguo Hou
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry (Ministry of Education)
- Shandong University
- Jinan 250100
- P. R. China
- National Engineering Technology Research Center for Colloidal Materials
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22
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Sahai N, Kaddour H, Dalai P, Wang Z, Bass G, Gao M. Mineral Surface Chemistry and Nanoparticle-aggregation Control Membrane Self-Assembly. Sci Rep 2017; 7:43418. [PMID: 28266537 PMCID: PMC5339912 DOI: 10.1038/srep43418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The self-assembly of lipid bilayer membranes to enclose functional biomolecules, thus defining a “protocell,” was a seminal moment in the emergence of life on Earth and likely occurred at the micro-environment of the mineral-water interface. Mineral-lipid interactions are also relevant in biomedical, industrial and technological processes. Yet, no structure-activity relationships (SARs) have been identified to predict lipid self-assembly at mineral surfaces. Here we examined the influence of minerals on the self-assembly and survival of vesicles composed of single chain amphiphiles as model protocell membranes. The apparent critical vesicle concentration (CVC) increased in the presence of positively-charged nanoparticulate minerals at high loadings (mg/mL) suggesting unfavorable membrane self-assembly in such situations. Above the CVC, initial vesicle formation rates were faster in the presence of minerals. Rates were correlated with the mineral’s isoelectric point (IEP) and reactive surface area. The IEP depends on the crystal structure, chemical composition and surface hydration. Thus, membrane self-assembly showed rational dependence on fundamental mineral properties. Once formed, membrane permeability (integrity) was unaffected by minerals. Suggesting that, protocells could have survived on rock surfaces. These SARs may help predict the formation and survival of protocell membranes on early Earth and other rocky planets, and amphiphile-mineral interactions in diverse other phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nita Sahai
- Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.,Department of Geology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.,Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Hussein Kaddour
- Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Punam Dalai
- Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Ziqiu Wang
- Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Garrett Bass
- Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Min Gao
- Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA
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23
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Izgu EC, Björkbom A, Kamat NP, Lelyveld VS, Zhang W, Jia TZ, Szostak JW. N-Carboxyanhydride-Mediated Fatty Acylation of Amino Acids and Peptides for Functionalization of Protocell Membranes. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:16669-16676. [PMID: 27959544 PMCID: PMC7547885 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b08801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Early protocells are likely to have arisen from the self-assembly of RNA, peptide, and lipid molecules that were generated and concentrated within geologically favorable environments on the early Earth. The reactivity of these components in a prebiotic environment that supplied sources of chemical energy could have produced additional species with properties favorable to the emergence of protocells. The geochemically plausible activation of amino acids by carbonyl sulfide has been shown to generate short peptides via the formation of cyclic amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). Here, we show that the polymerization of valine-NCA in the presence of fatty acids yields acylated amino acids and peptides via a mixed anhydride intermediate. Notably, Nα-oleoylarginine, a product of the reaction between arginine and oleic acid in the presence of valine-NCA, partitions spontaneously into vesicle membranes and mediates the association of RNA with the vesicles. Our results suggest a potential mechanism by which activated amino acids could diversify the chemical functionality of fatty acid membranes and colocalize RNA with vesicles during the formation of early protocells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enver Cagri Izgu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Anders Björkbom
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.,Department of Biosciences, Åbo Akademi University , Åbo FI-20520, Finland
| | - Neha P Kamat
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Victor S Lelyveld
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Weicheng Zhang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Tony Z Jia
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School , 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
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24
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Abstract
Understanding how life arose is a fundamental problem of biology. Much progress has been made by adopting a synthetic and mechanistic perspective on originating life. We present a current view of the biochemistry of the origin of life, focusing on issues surrounding the emergence of an RNA World in which RNA dominated informational and functional roles. There is cause for optimism on this difficult problem: the prebiotic chemical inventory may not have been as nightmarishly complex as previously thought; the catalytic repertoire of ribozymes continues to expand, approaching the goal of self-replicating RNA; encapsulation in protocells provides evolutionary and biophysical advantages. Nevertheless, major issues remain unsolved, such as the origin of a genetic code. Attention to this field is particularly timely given the accelerating discovery and characterization of exoplanets.
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25
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Budin I, Prwyes N, Zhang N, Szostak JW. Chain-length heterogeneity allows for the assembly of fatty acid vesicles in dilute solutions. Biophys J 2015; 107:1582-90. [PMID: 25296310 PMCID: PMC4190651 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.07.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A requirement for concentrated and chemically homogeneous pools of molecular building blocks would severely restrict plausible scenarios for the origin of life. In the case of membrane self-assembly, models of prebiotic lipid synthesis yield primarily short, single-chain amphiphiles that can form bilayer vesicles only at very high concentrations. These high critical aggregation concentrations (cacs) pose significant obstacles for the self-assembly of single-chain lipid membranes. Here, we examine membrane self-assembly in mixtures of fatty acids with varying chain lengths, an expected feature of any abiotic lipid synthesis. We derive theoretical predictions for the cac of mixtures by adapting thermodynamic models developed for the analogous phenomenon of mixed micelle self-assembly. We then use several complementary methods to characterize aggregation experimentally, and find cac values in close agreement with our theoretical predictions. These measurements establish that the cac of fatty acid mixtures is dramatically lowered by minor fractions of long-chain species, thereby providing a plausible route for protocell membrane assembly. Using an NMR-based approach to monitor aggregation of isotopically labeled samples, we demonstrate the incorporation of individual components into mixed vesicles. These experiments suggest that vesicles assembled in dilute, mixed solutions are depleted of the shorter-chain-length lipid species, a finding that carries implications for the composition of primitive cell membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Budin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Noam Prwyes
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Na Zhang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, P. R. China
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Kapoor S, Berghaus M, Suladze S, Prumbaum D, Grobelny S, Degen P, Raunser S, Winter R. Prebiotic Cell Membranes that Survive Extreme Environmental Pressure Conditions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201404254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Kapoor S, Berghaus M, Suladze S, Prumbaum D, Grobelny S, Degen P, Raunser S, Winter R. Prebiotic cell membranes that survive extreme environmental pressure conditions. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014; 53:8397-401. [PMID: 24953643 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201404254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Attractive candidates for compartmentalizing prebiotic cells are membranes comprised of single-chain fatty acids. It is generally believed that life may have originated in the depth of the protoocean, that is, under high hydrostatic pressure conditions, but the structure and physical-chemical properties of prebiotic membranes under such conditions have not yet been explored. We report the temperature- and pressure-dependent properties of membranes composed of prebiotically highly-plausible lipids and demonstrate that prebiotic membranes could not only withstand extreme temperatures, but also serve as robust models of protocells operating in extreme pressure environments. We show that pressure not only increases the stability of vesicular systems but also limits their flexibility and permeability to solutes, while still keeping the membrane in an overall fluid-like and thus functional state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shobhna Kapoor
- Physical Chemistry I-Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227 Dortmund (Germany); Current address: Department of Chemical Biology, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Physiology, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 11, 44227 Dortmund (Germany)
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Abstract
The complexity of even the simplest known life forms makes efforts to synthesize living cells from inanimate components seem like a daunting task. However, recent progress toward the creation of synthetic cells, ranging from simple protocells to artificial cells approaching the complexity of bacteria, suggests that the synthesis of life is now a realistic goal. Protocell research, fueled by advances in the biophysics of primitive membranes and the chemistry of nucleic acid replication, is providing new insights into the origin of cellular life. Parallel efforts to construct more complex artificial cells, incorporating translational machinery and protein enzymes, are providing information about the requirements for protein-based life. We discuss recent advances and remaining challenges in the synthesis of artificial cells, the possibility of creating new forms of life distinct from existing biology, and the promise of this research for gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of living systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Craig Blain
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114; ,
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Bianconi G, Zhao K, Chen IA, Nowak MA. Selection for replicases in protocells. PLoS Comput Biol 2013; 9:e1003051. [PMID: 23671413 PMCID: PMC3649988 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2012] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We consider a world of nucleotide sequences and protocells. The sequences have the property of spontaneous self-replication. Some sequences - so-called replicases - have enzymatic activity in the sense of enhancing the replication rate of all (or almost all) sequences. In a well-mixed medium, natural selection would not favor such replicases because their presence equally benefits sequences with or without replicase activity. Here we show that protocells can select for replicases. We assume that sequences replicate within protocells and that protocells undergo spontaneous division. This leads to particular population structures which can augment the abundance of replicases. We explore various assumptions regarding replicase activity and protocell division. We calculate the error threshold that is compatible with selecting for replicases. The origin of life, proceeding from chemical reactions to cells, must have included a critical transitional period in which catalytically active sequences arose. A fundamental problem exists for the first catalytic sequences: their activity would not enhance their own fitness directly, and might even decrease their own fitness relative to that of other molecules. Catalytic sequences are constantly encumbered by mutation and drift, limiting the amount of information that can be maintained. Population structures, such as cells, are known to be able to counter this problem. Here we introduce a simple model of the earliest cells to understand limits on information for catalysts with different properties. We find some parallels to information limits on replicators in free solution. Conditions that keep replicases together, or enhance their effect as their abundance increases, permit the evolution of catalytically active sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ginestra Bianconi
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract
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The first protocell membranes may have assembled from
fatty acids
and related single-chain lipids available in the prebiotic environment.
Prior to the evolution of complex cellular machinery, spontaneous
protocell membrane growth and division had to result from the intrinsic
physicochemical properties of these molecules, in the context of specific
environmental conditions. Depending on the nature of the chemical
and physical environment, fatty acids can partition between several
different phases, including soluble monomers, micelles, and lamellar
vesicles. Here we address the concentration dependence of fatty acid
aggregation, which is dominated by entropic considerations. We quantitatively
distinguish between fatty acid phases using a combination of physical
and spectroscopic techniques, including the use of the fluorescent
fatty acid analogue Laurdan, whose emission spectrum is sensitive
to structural differences between micellar and lamellar aggregates.
We find that the monomer–aggregate transition largely follows
a characteristic pseudophase model of molecular aggregation but that
the composition of the aggregate phase is also concentration dependent.
At low amphiphile concentrations above the critical aggregate concentration,
vesicles coexist with a significant proportion of micelles, while
more concentrated solutions favor the lamellar vesicle phase. We subsequently
show that the micelle–vesicle equilibrium can be used to drive
the growth of pre-existing vesicles upon an increase in amphiphile
concentration either through solvent evaporation or following the
addition of excess lipids. We propose a simple model for a primitive
environmentally driven cell cycle, in which protocell membrane growth
results from evaporative concentration, followed by shear force or
photochemically induced division.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Budin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute , Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
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Jungclaus G, Yuen G, Moore C, Lawless J. EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT ALCOHOLS AND CARBONYL COMPOUNDS IN THE MURCHISON METEORITE†. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1945-5100.1976.tb00324.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Kompanichenko VN. Inversion concept of the origin of life. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2012; 42:153-78. [PMID: 22644566 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-012-9279-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2011] [Accepted: 03/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The essence of the inversion concept of the origin of life can be narrowed down to the following theses: 1) thermodynamic inversion is the key transformation of prebiotic microsystems leading to their transition into primary forms of life; 2) this transformation might occur only in the microsystems oscillating around the bifurcation point under far-from-equilibrium conditions. The transformation consists in the inversion of the balance "free energy contribution / entropy contribution", from negative to positive values. At the inversion moment the microsystem radically reorganizes in accordance with the new negentropy (i.e. biological) way of organization. According to this approach, the origin-of-life process on the early Earth took place in the fluctuating hydrothermal medium. The process occurred in two successive stages: a) spontaneous self-assembly of initial three-dimensional prebiotic microsystems composed mainly of hydrocarbons, lipids and simple amino acids, or their precursors, within the temperature interval of 100-300°C (prebiotic stage); b) non-spontaneous synthesis of sugars, ATP and nucleic acids started at the inversion moment under the temperature 70-100°C (biotic stage). Macro- and microfluctuations of thermodynamic and physico-chemical parameters able to sustain this way of chemical conversion have been detected in several contemporary hydrothermal systems. A minimal self-sufficient unit of life on the early Earth was a community of simplest microorganisms (not a separate microorganism).
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Affiliation(s)
- V N Kompanichenko
- Institute for Complex Analysis, 4 Sholom Aleyhem St, Birobidzhan, 679016, Russia.
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Abstract
Easily accessible, primitive chemical structures produced by self-assembly of hydrophobic substances into oil droplets may result in self-moving agents able to sense their environment and move to avoid equilibrium. These structures would constitute very primitive examples of life on the Earth, even more primitive than simple bilayer vesicle structures. A few examples of simple chemical systems are presented that self-organize to produce oil droplets capable of movement, environment remodelling and primitive chemotaxis. These chemical agents are powered by an internal chemical reaction based on the hydrolysis of an oleic anhydride precursor or on the hydrolysis of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) polymer, a plausible prebiotic chemistry. Results are presented on both the behaviour of such droplets and the surface-active properties of HCN polymer products. Such motile agents would be capable of finding resources while escaping equilibrium and sustaining themselves through an internal metabolism, thus providing a working chemical model for a possible origin of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin M Hanczyc
- Center for Fundamental Living Technology (FLinT), Institute of Physics and Chemistry, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark.
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34
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Experimental systems to explore life origin: perspectives for understanding primitive mechanisms of cell division. Results Probl Cell Differ 2011. [PMID: 21630138 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-19065-0_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Compartmentalization is a necessary element for the development of any cell cycle and the origin of speciation. Changes in shape and size of compartments might have been the first manifestation of development of so-called cell cycles. Cell growth and division, processes guided by biological reactions in modern cells, might have originated as purely physicochemical processes. Modern cells use enzymes to initiate and control all stages of cell cycle. Protocells, in the absence of advanced enzymatic machinery, might have needed to rely on physical properties of the membrane. As the division processes could not have been controlled by the cell's metabolism, the first protocells probably did not undergo regular cell cycles as we know it in cells of today. More likely, the division of protocells was triggered either by some inorganic catalyzing factor, such as porous surface, or protocells divided when the encapsulated contents reached some critical concentration.
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Stockton AM, Tjin CC, Chiesl TN, Mathies RA. Analysis of carbonaceous biomarkers with the Mars Organic Analyzer microchip capillary electrophoresis system: carboxylic acids. ASTROBIOLOGY 2011; 11:519-528. [PMID: 21790324 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The oxidizing surface chemistry on Mars argues that any comprehensive search for organic compounds indicative of life requires methods to analyze higher oxidation states of carbon with very low limits of detection. To address this goal, microchip capillary electrophoresis (μCE) methods were developed for analysis of carboxylic acids with the Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA). Fluorescent derivatization was achieved by activation with the water soluble 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) followed by reaction with Cascade Blue hydrazide in 30 mM borate, pH 3. A standard containing 12 carboxylic acids found in terrestrial life was successfully labeled and separated in 30 mM borate at pH 9.5, 20 °C by using the MOA CE system. Limits of detection were 5-10 nM for aliphatic monoacids, 20 nM for malic acid (diacid), and 230 nM for citric acid (triacid). Polyacid benzene derivatives containing 2, 3, 4, and 6 carboxyl groups were also analyzed. In particular, mellitic acid was successfully labeled and analyzed with a limit of detection of 300 nM (5 ppb). Analyses of carboxylic acids sampled from a lava tube cave and a hydrothermal area demonstrated the versatility and robustness of our method. This work establishes that the MOA can be used for sensitive analyses of a wide range of carboxylic acids in the search for extraterrestrial organic molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Stockton
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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36
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Meierhenrich UJ, Filippi JJ, Meinert C, Vierling P, Dworkin JP. On the origin of primitive cells: from nutrient intake to elongation of encapsulated nucleotides. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2010; 49:3738-50. [PMID: 20437432 DOI: 10.1002/anie.200905465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Recent major discoveries in membrane biophysics hold the key to a modern understanding of the origin of life on Earth. Membrane bilayer vesicles have been shown to provide a multifaceted microenvironment in which protometabolic reactions could have developed. Cell-membrane-like aggregates of amphiphilic molecules capable of retaining encapsulated oligonucleotides have been successfully created in the laboratory. Sophisticated laboratory studies on the origin of life now show that elongation of the DNA primer takes place inside fatty acid vesicles when activated nucleotide nutrients are added to the external medium. These studies demonstrate that cell-like vesicles can be sufficiently permeable to allow for the intake of charged molecules such as activated nucleotides, which can then take part in copying templates in the protocell interior. In this Review we summarize recent experiments in this area and describe a possible scenario for the origin of primitive cells, with an emphasis on the elongation of encapsulated nucleotides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uwe J Meierhenrich
- LCMBA UMR 6001 CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Faculté des Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France.
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37
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Abstract
Recent synthetic approaches to understanding the origin of life have yielded insights into plausible pathways for the emergence of the first cells. Here we review current experiments with implications for the origin of life, emphasizing the ability of unexpected physical processes to facilitate the self-assembly and self-replication of the first biological systems. These laboratory efforts have uncovered novel physical mechanisms for the emergence of homochirality; the concentration and purification of prebiotic building blocks; and the ability of the first cells to assemble, grow, divide, and acquire greater complexity. In the absence of evolved biochemical capabilities, such physical processes likely played an essential role in early biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Budin
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2696, USA
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Meierhenrich U, Filippi JJ, Meinert C, Vierling P, Dworkin J. Die Entstehung erster Zellen - von der Nährstoffaufnahme hin zur Verlängerung eingeschlossener Nucleotide. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2010. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.200905465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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39
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Abstract
The generation of synthetic forms of cellular life requires solutions to the problem of how biological processes such as cyclic growth and division could emerge from purely physical and chemical systems. Small unilamellar fatty acid vesicles grow when fed with fatty acid micelles and can be forced to divide by extrusion, but this artificial division process results in significant loss of protocell contents during each division cycle. Here we describe a simple and efficient pathway for model protocell membrane growth and division. The growth of large multilamellar fatty acid vesicles fed with fatty acid micelles, in a solution where solute permeation across the membranes is slow, results in the transformation of initially spherical vesicles into long thread-like vesicles, a process driven by the transient imbalance between surface area and volume growth. Modest shear forces are then sufficient to cause the thread-like vesicles to divide into multiple daughter vesicles without loss of internal contents. In an environment of gentle shear, protocell growth and division are thus coupled processes. We show that model protocells can proceed through multiple cycles of reproduction. Encapsulated RNA molecules, representing a primitive genome, are distributed to the daughter vesicles. Our observations bring us closer to the laboratory synthesis of a complete protocell consisting of a self-replicating genome and a self-replicating membrane compartment. In addition, the robustness and simplicity of this pathway suggests that similar processes might have occurred under the prebiotic conditions of the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting F Zhu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
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40
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene A Chen
- Division of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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41
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Ehrenfreund P, Rasmussen S, Cleaves J, Chen L. Experimentally tracing the key steps in the origin of life: The aromatic world. ASTROBIOLOGY 2006; 6:490-520. [PMID: 16805704 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.6.490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Life is generally believed to emerge on Earth, to be at least functionally similar to life as we know it today, and to be much simpler than modern life. Although minimal life is notoriously difficult to define, a molecular system can be considered alive if it turns resources into building blocks, replicates, and evolves. Primitive life may have consisted of a compartmentalized genetic system coupled with an energy-harvesting mechanism. How prebiotic building blocks self-assemble and transform themselves into a minimal living system can be broken into two questions: (1) How can prebiotic building blocks form containers, metabolic networks, and informational polymers? (2) How can these three components cooperatively organize to form a protocell that satisfies the minimal requirements for a living system? The functional integration of these components is a difficult puzzle that requires cooperation among all the aspects of protocell assembly: starting material, reaction mechanisms, thermodynamics, and the integration of the inheritance, metabolism, and container functionalities. Protocells may have been self-assembled from components different from those used in modern biochemistry. We propose that assemblies based on aromatic hydrocarbons may have been the most abundant flexible and stable organic materials on the primitive Earth and discuss their possible integration into a minimal life form. In this paper we attempt to combine current knowledge of the composition of prebiotic organic material of extraterrestrial and terrestrial origin, and put these in the context of possible prebiotic scenarios. We also describe laboratory experiments that might help clarify the transition from nonliving to living matter using aromatic material. This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach to interface state of the art knowledge in astrochemistry, prebiotic chemistry, and artificial life research.
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42
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43
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Abstract
We are engaged in a long-term effort to synthesize chemical systems capable of Darwinian evolution, based on the encapsulation of self-replicating nucleic acids in self-replicating membrane vesicles. Here, we address the issue of the compatibility of these two replicating systems. Fatty acids form vesicles that are able to grow and divide, but vesicles composed solely of fatty acids are incompatible with the folding and activity of most ribozymes, because low concentrations of divalent cations (e.g., Mg(2+)) cause fatty acids to precipitate. Furthermore, vesicles that grow and divide must be permeable to the cations and substrates required for internal metabolism. We used a mixture of myristoleic acid and its glycerol monoester to construct vesicles that were Mg(2+)-tolerant and found that Mg(2+) cations can permeate the membrane and equilibrate within a few minutes. In vesicles encapsulating a hammerhead ribozyme, the addition of external Mg(2+) led to the activation and self-cleavage of the ribozyme molecules. Vesicles composed of these amphiphiles grew spontaneously through osmotically driven competition between vesicles, and further modification of the membrane composition allowed growth following mixed micelle addition. Our results show that membranes made from simple amphiphiles can form vesicles that are stable enough to retain encapsulated RNAs in the presence of divalent cations, yet dynamic enough to grow spontaneously and allow the passage of Mg(2+) and mononucleotides without specific macromolecular transporters. This combination of stability and dynamics is critical for building model protocells in the laboratory and may have been important for early cellular evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene A Chen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
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44
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Schöler HF, Nkusi G, Niedan VW, Müller G, Spitthoff B. Screening of organic halogens and identification of chlorinated benzoic acids in carbonaceous meteorites. CHEMOSPHERE 2005; 60:1505-12. [PMID: 16083757 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.02.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2004] [Revised: 02/15/2005] [Accepted: 02/21/2005] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The occurrence of halogenated organic compounds measured as a sum parameter and the evidence of chlorinated benzoic acids in four carbonaceous meteorites (Cold Bokkeveld, Murray, Murchison and Orgueil) from four independent fall events is reported. After AOX (Adsorbable organic halogen) and EOX (Extractable organic halogen) screening to quantify organically bound halogens, chlorinated organic compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography. AOX concentrations varying from 124 to 209 microg Cl/g d.w. were observed in carbonaceous meteorites. Ion chromatographic analysis of the distribution of organically bound halogens performed on the Cold Bokkeveld meteorite revealed that chlorinated and brominated organic compounds were extractable, up to 70%, whereas only trace amounts of organofluorines could be extracted. Chlorinated benzoic acids have been identified in carbonaceous meteorite extracts. Their presence and concentrations raise the question concerning the origin of halogenated, especially chlorinated, organic compounds in primitive planetary matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heinz F Schöler
- Institute of Environmental Geochemistry, University of Heidelberg, INF 236, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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45
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Abstract
Membrane vesicles composed of fatty acids can be made to grow and divide under laboratory conditions, and thus provide a model system relevant to the emergence of cellular life. Fatty acid vesicles grow spontaneously when alkaline micelles are added to buffered vesicles. To investigate the mechanism of this process, we used stopped-flow kinetics to analyze the dilution of non-exchanging FRET probes incorporated into preformed vesicles during growth. Oleate vesicle growth occurs in two phases (fast and slow), indicating two pathways for the incorporation of fatty acid into preformed vesicles. We propose that the fast phase, which is stoichiometrically limited by the preformed vesicles, results from the formation of a "shell" of fatty acid around a vesicle, followed by rapid transfer of this fatty acid into the preformed vesicle. The slower phase may result from incorporation of fatty acid which had been trapped in an intermediate state. We provide independent evidence for the rapid transformation of micelles into an aggregated intermediate form after transfer from high to low pH. Our results show that the most efficient incorporation of added oleate into oleic acid/oleate vesicles occurs under conditions that avoid a large transient increase in the micelle/vesicle ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene A Chen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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46
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Chen IA, Szostak JW. Membrane growth can generate a transmembrane pH gradient in fatty acid vesicles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004; 101:7965-70. [PMID: 15148394 PMCID: PMC419540 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0308045101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrochemical proton gradients are the basis of energy transduction in modern cells, and may have played important roles in even the earliest cell-like structures. We have investigated the conditions under which pH gradients are maintained across the membranes of fatty acid vesicles, a model of early cell membranes. We show that pH gradients across such membranes decay rapidly in the presence of alkali-metal cations, but can be maintained in the absence of permeable cations. Under such conditions, when fatty acid vesicles grow through the incorporation of additional fatty acid, a transmembrane pH gradient is spontaneously generated. The formation of this pH gradient captures some of the energy released during membrane growth, but also opposes and limits further membrane area increase. The coupling of membrane growth to energy storage could have provided a growth advantage to early cells, once the membrane composition had evolved to allow the maintenance of stable pH gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene A Chen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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47
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Abstract
Recent studies of carbonaceous chondrites provide evidence that certain organic compounds are indigenous and the result of an abiotic, chemical synthesis. The results of several investigators have established the presence of amino acids and precursors, mono- and dicarboxylic acids, N-heterocycles, and hydrocarbons as well as other compounds. For example, studies of the Murchison and Murray meteorites have revealed the presence of at least 40 amino acids with nearly equal abundances of D and L isomers. The population consists of both protein and non-protein amino acids including a wide variety of linear, cyclic, and polyfunctional types. Results show a trend of decreasing concentration with increasing carbon number, with the most abundant being glycine (41 n Moles/g). The monocarboxylic acids are more abundant (1.83 micro Moles propanoic acid/g Murchison), with hydrocarbons present in even greater abundance. In addition, quantification of the monocarboxylic acids shows a nearly equal distribution of straight and branched chain isomers. These and other results to be reviewed provide persuasive support for the theory of chemical evolution and provide the only natural evidence for the protobiological subset of molecules from which life on earth may have arisen.
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Affiliation(s)
- J G Lawless
- Ames Research Center, NASA, Moffett Field, California, USA
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48
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Cooper GW, Cronin JR. Linear and cyclic aliphatic carboxamides of the Murchison meteorite: hydrolyzable derivatives of amino acids and other carboxylic acids. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 1995; 59:1003-1015. [PMID: 11540047 DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(95)00018-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Analyses of fractionated aqueous extracts of the Murchison meteorite by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after silylation with N-methyl-N (tert-butyldimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide have revealed an extensive series of linear and cyclic aliphatic amides. These include monocarboxylic acid amides, dicarboxylic acid monoamides, hydroxy acid amides, lactams, carboxy lactams, lactims, N-acetyl amino acids, and substituted hydantoins. Numerous isomers and homologues through at least C8 were observed in all cases, except for the N-acetyl amino acids and hydantoins. Carboxy lactams, lactams, hydantoins, and N-acetyl amino acids are converted to amino acids by acid hydrolysis, thus, these compounds qualitatively account for the earlier observation of acid-labile amino acid precursors in meteoritic extracts. Laboratory studies of the spontaneous decomposition of N-carbamyl-alpha-amino acids and their dehydration products, the 5-substituted hydantoins, have led to the recognition of a series of aqueous phase reactions by which amino acids and cyanic acid/cyanate ion in the primitive parent body might have given rise to several of the observed classes of amides, as well as to monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids, and hydroxy acids. A previously undescribed reaction of 5-substituted hydantoins with cyanic acid/cyanate ion to give carboxamides of the 5-substituent groups was observed in the course of these studies. The presence of an extensive suite of amides in a CM chondrite appears to be consistent with the interstellar-parent body formation hypothesis for the organic compounds of these meteorites. The presence of carboxy lactams and lactams along with free amino acids suggests the possibility of further chemical evolution of meteorite amino acids by thermal polymerization. The cyclic amides, given their potential for hydrogen-bonded pair formation, might be considered candidate bases for a primitive sequence coding system.
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Affiliation(s)
- G W Cooper
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-1604, USA
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49
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Mautner MN, Leonard RL, Deamer DW. Meteorite organics in planetary environments: hydrothermal release, surface activity, and microbial utilization. PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE 1995; 43:139-147. [PMID: 11538427 DOI: 10.1016/0032-0633(94)00205-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Up to 50% of the organics in the Murchison meteorite, possibly including some of the polymer, is released in high temperature and pressure aqueous environments, to 350 degrees C and 250 bar, that simulate submarine volcanic, hydrothermal or impact-induced conditions. Meteorite organics of prebiotic significance, such as nonanoic acid, glycine, and pyrene survive the hydrothermal conditions. The released material is surface active with surface pressures up to 19.8 x 10(-3) N m-1, and exhibits an extended surface tension isotherm which suggests a mixture of amphiphilic components. One component, nonanoic acid, is shown to form vesicles. The materials extracted under mild conditions, at 120 degrees C, are nutrients for the humic acid bacterium Pseudomonas maltophilia and efficient nutrients for the oligotroph Flavobacterium oryzihabitans, demonstrating the capability of microorganisms to metabolize extraterrestrial organics.
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Affiliation(s)
- M N Mautner
- Department of Soil Science, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand
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Cronin JR, Pizzarello S, Epstein S, Krishnamurthy RV. Molecular and isotopic analyses of the hydroxy acids, dicarboxylic acids, and hydroxicarboxylic acids of the Murchison meteorite. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA 1993; 57:4745-4752. [PMID: 11539582 DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(93)90197-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The hydroxymonocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids, and hydroxydicarboxylic acids of the Murchison meteorite were analyzed as their tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives using combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The hydroxydicarboxylic acids have not been found previously in meteorites. Each class of compounds is numerous with carbon chains up to C8 or C9 and many, if not all, chain and substitution position isomers represented at each carbon number. The alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids and alpha-hydroxydicarboxylic acids correspond structurally to many of the known meteoritic alpha-aminocarboxylic acids and alpha-aminodicarboxylic acids, a fact that supports the proposal that a Strecker synthesis was involved in the formation of both classes of compounds. Isotopic analyses show these acids to be D-rich relative to terrestrial organic compounds as expected; however, the hydroxy acids appear to be isotopically lighter than the amino acids with respect to both carbon and hydrogen. The latter finding would not be expected if both classes of compounds came exclusively from common precursors as would have been the case for a Strecker synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Cronin
- Department of Chemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-1604, USA
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