1
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Qiu L, Cooks RG. Oxazolone mediated peptide chain extension and homochirality in aqueous microdroplets. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309360120. [PMID: 38165938 PMCID: PMC10786291 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309360120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Peptide formation from amino acids is thermodynamically unfavorable but a recent study provided evidence that the reaction occurs at the air/solution interfaces of aqueous microdroplets. Here, we show that i) the suggested amino acid complex in microdroplets undergoes dehydration to form oxazolone; ii) addition of water to oxazolone forms the dipeptide; and iii) reaction of oxazolone with other amino acids forms tripeptides. Furthermore, the chirality of the reacting amino acids is preserved in the oxazolone product, and strong chiral selectivity is observed when converting the oxazolone to tripeptide. This last fact ensures that optically impure amino acids will undergo chain extension to generate pure homochiral peptides. Peptide formation in bulk by wet-dry cycling shares a common pathway with the microdroplet reaction, both involving the oxazolone intermediate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingqi Qiu
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907
| | - R. Graham Cooks
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907
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2
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Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084252. [PMID: 35457069 PMCID: PMC9030215 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycine (Gly), NH2CH2COOH, is the simplest amino acid. Although it has not been directly detected in the interstellar gas-phase medium, it has been identified in comets and meteorites, and its synthesis in these environments has been simulated in terrestrial laboratory experiments. Likewise, condensation of Gly to form peptides in scenarios resembling those present in a primordial Earth has been demonstrated experimentally. Thus, Gly is a paradigmatic system for biomolecular building blocks to investigate how they can be synthesized in astrophysical environments, transported and delivered by fragments of asteroids (meteorites, once they land on Earth) and comets (interplanetary dust particles that land on Earth) to the primitive Earth, and there react to form biopolymers as a step towards the emergence of life. Quantum chemical investigations addressing these Gly-related events have been performed, providing fundamental atomic-scale information and quantitative energetic data. However, they are spread in the literature and difficult to harmonize in a consistent way due to different computational chemistry methodologies and model systems. This review aims to collect the work done so far to characterize, at a quantum mechanical level, the chemical life of Gly, i.e., from its synthesis in the interstellar medium up to its polymerization on Earth.
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3
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Vincent L, Colón-Santos S, Cleaves HJ, Baum DA, Maurer SE. The Prebiotic Kitchen: A Guide to Composing Prebiotic Soup Recipes to Test Origins of Life Hypotheses. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11111221. [PMID: 34833097 PMCID: PMC8618940 DOI: 10.3390/life11111221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
“Prebiotic soup” often features in discussions of origins of life research, both as a theoretical concept when discussing abiological pathways to modern biochemical building blocks and, more recently, as a feedstock in prebiotic chemistry experiments focused on discovering emergent, systems-level processes such as polymerization, encapsulation, and evolution. However, until now, little systematic analysis has gone into the design of well-justified prebiotic mixtures, which are needed to facilitate experimental replicability and comparison among researchers. This paper explores principles that should be considered in choosing chemical mixtures for prebiotic chemistry experiments by reviewing the natural environmental conditions that might have created such mixtures and then suggests reasonable guidelines for designing recipes. We discuss both “assembled” mixtures, which are made by mixing reagent grade chemicals, and “synthesized” mixtures, which are generated directly from diversity-generating primary prebiotic syntheses. We discuss different practical concerns including how to navigate the tremendous uncertainty in the chemistry of the early Earth and how to balance the desire for using prebiotically realistic mixtures with experimental tractability and replicability. Examples of two assembled mixtures, one based on materials likely delivered by carbonaceous meteorites and one based on spark discharge synthesis, are presented to illustrate these challenges. We explore alternative procedures for making synthesized mixtures using recursive chemical reaction systems whose outputs attempt to mimic atmospheric and geochemical synthesis. Other experimental conditions such as pH and ionic strength are also considered. We argue that developing a handful of standardized prebiotic recipes may facilitate coordination among researchers and enable the identification of the most promising mechanisms by which complex prebiotic mixtures were “tamed” during the origin of life to give rise to key living processes such as self-propagation, information processing, and adaptive evolution. We end by advocating for the development of a public prebiotic chemistry database containing experimental methods (including soup recipes), results, and analytical pipelines for analyzing complex prebiotic mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Vincent
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - Stephanie Colón-Santos
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
| | - H. James Cleaves
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, The Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA;
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Seattle, WA 97154, USA
| | - David A. Baum
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715, USA; (L.V.); (S.C.-S.)
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
| | - Sarah E. Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT 06050, USA
- Correspondence: (D.A.B.); (S.E.M.)
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4
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Lymer EA, Konstantinidis M, Lalla EA, Daly MG, Tait KT. UV Time-Resolved Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Amino Acids Found in Meteorites: Implications for Space Science and Exploration. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:1350-1362. [PMID: 34314603 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is a useful laboratory and in situ technique for planetary exploration, with applications in biosignature detection and the search for life on Mars. However, little work has been completed on the utility of fluorescence spectroscopy techniques on asteroid relevant material. In preparation for asteroid sample return missions such as NASA's OSIRIS-REx and JAXA's Hayabusa2, we conducted UV time resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIF) analysis of 10 amino acids, all of which have been found in the carbonaceous meteorites Murchison and Allende. We present the calculation of decay rates of each amino acid (1.55-3.56 ns) and compare with those of relevant homogeneous minerals (15-70 ns). Moreover, we demonstrate a linear relationship between calculated lifetimes and elemental abundance of nitrogen and carbon (p < 0.025). The quantitative and qualitative fluorescence analyses presented in this work will lead to more reliable identification of organic material within meteorites and asteroids in a time-efficient, minimally destructive way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Lymer
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Menelaos Konstantinidis
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Emmanuel A Lalla
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Michael G Daly
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kimberly T Tait
- Department of Natural History, Centre for Applied Planetary Mineralogy, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
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5
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Zellner NEB, McCaffrey VP, Butler JHE. Cometary Glycolaldehyde as a Source of pre-RNA Molecules. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1377-1388. [PMID: 32985898 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Over 200 molecules have been detected in multiple extraterrestrial environments, including glycolaldehyde (C2(H2O)2, GLA), a two-carbon sugar precursor that has been detected in regions of the interstellar medium. Its recent in situ detection on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and through remote observations in the comae of others provides tantalizing evidence that it is common on most (if not all) comets. Impact experiments conducted at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center have shown that samples of GLA and GLA mixed with montmorillonite clays can survive impact delivery in the pressure range of 4.5 to 25 GPa. Extrapolated to amounts of GLA observed on individual comets and assuming a monotonic impact rate in the first billion years of Solar System history, these experimental results show that up to 1023 kg of cometary GLA could have survived impact delivery, with substantial amounts of threose, erythrose, glycolic acid, and ethylene glycol also produced or delivered. Importantly, independent of the profile of the impact flux in the early Solar System, comet delivery of GLA would have provided (and may continue to provide) a reservoir of starting material for the formose reaction (to form ribose) and the Strecker reaction (to form amino acids). Thus, comets may have been important delivery vehicles for starting molecules necessary for life as we know it.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jayden H E Butler
- Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, Michigan, USA
- Department of Physics, California State University - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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6
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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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7
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Furusho A, Akita T, Mita M, Naraoka H, Hamase K. Three-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of chiral amino acids in carbonaceous chondrites. J Chromatogr A 2020; 1625:461255. [PMID: 32709316 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A three-dimensional (3D) HPLC system in combination with fluorescence derivatization has been developed for the highly sensitive and selective analysis of chiral amino acids in extraterrestrial samples. As the targets, alanine (Ala), 2-aminobutyric acid (2AB), valine (Val), norvaline (nVal) and isovaline (iVal), frequently found chiral amino acids in the carbonaceous chondrites, were selected. These amino acids were pre-column derivatized with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F), and the target analytes were separated from other amino acids and organic compounds by a reversed-phase column in the first dimension. The targets were further separated from interferences by an anion-exchange column in the second dimension, and their enantiomers were separated and determined in the third dimension by a Pirkle-type enantioselective column. The present 3D-HPLC system was validated and applied to the Murchison meteorite and the Antarctic meteorites, and all of the target amino acid enantiomers were clearly observed (0.78-22.33 nmol/g in the Murchison meteorite and 1.79-78.84 nmol/g in the Antarctic meteorites) without severe interferences. The %L values of the non-proteinogenic amino acids were almost 50% in both meteorites, and even the proteinogenic amino acids were almost racemic in the Antarctic meteorites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aogu Furusho
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higasi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Takeyuki Akita
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higasi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Masashi Mita
- KAGAMI Inc., 7-7-15 Saito-asagi, Ibaraki 567-0085, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Naraoka
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Kenji Hamase
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higasi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
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8
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van Kooten E, Cavalcante L, Wielandt D, Bizzarro M. The role of Bells in the continuous accretion between the CM and CR chondrite reservoirs. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2020; 55:575-590. [PMID: 32362738 PMCID: PMC7188250 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
CM meteorites are dominant members of carbonaceous chondrites (CCs), which evidently accreted in a region separated from the terrestrial planets. These chondrites are key in determining the accretion regions of solar system materials, since in Mg and Cr isotope space, they intersect between what are identified as inner and outer solar system reservoirs. In this model, the outer reservoir is represented by metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites (MRCCs), including CR chondrites. An important question remains whether the barrier between MRCCs and CCs was a temporal or spatial one. CM chondrites and chondrules are used here to identify the nature of the barrier as well as the timescale of chondrite parent body accretion. We find based on high precision Mg and Cr isotope data of seven CM chondrites and 12 chondrules, that accretion in the CM chondrite reservoir was continuous lasting <3 Myr and showing late accretion of MRCC-like material reflected by the anomalous CM chondrite Bells. We further argue that although MRCCs likely accreted later than CM chondrites, CR chondrules must have initially formed from a reservoir spatially separated from CM chondrules. Finally, we hypothesize on the nature of the spatial barrier separating these reservoirs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elishevah van Kooten
- Institut de Physique du Globe de ParisUniversité de ParisCNRSUMR 71541 rue Jussieu75238ParisFrance
| | | | - Daniel Wielandt
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation and Natural History Museum of DenmarkUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1350CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Martin Bizzarro
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation and Natural History Museum of DenmarkUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1350CopenhagenDenmark
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9
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Glavin DP, Burton AS, Elsila JE, Aponte JC, Dworkin JP. The Search for Chiral Asymmetry as a Potential Biosignature in our Solar System. Chem Rev 2019; 120:4660-4689. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P. Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, United States
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - José C. Aponte
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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10
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Smith KE, House CH, Arevalo RD, Dworkin JP, Callahan MP. Organometallic compounds as carriers of extraterrestrial cyanide in primitive meteorites. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2777. [PMID: 31239434 PMCID: PMC6592946 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10866-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Extraterrestrial delivery of cyanide may have been crucial for the origin of life on Earth since cyanide is involved in the abiotic synthesis of numerous organic compounds found in extant life; however, little is known about the abundance and species of cyanide present in meteorites. Here, we report cyanide abundance in a set of CM chondrites ranging from 50 ± 1 to 2472 ± 38 nmol·g-1, which relates to the degree of aqueous alteration of the meteorite and indicates that parent body processing influenced cyanide abundance. Analysis of the Lewis Cliff 85311 meteorite shows that its releasable cyanide is primarily in the form of [FeII(CN)5(CO)]3- and [FeII(CN)4(CO)2]2-. Meteoritic delivery of iron cyanocarbonyl complexes to early Earth likely provided an important point source of free cyanide. Iron cyanocarbonyl complexes may have served as precursors to the unusual FeII(CN)(CO) moieties that form the catalytic centers of hydrogenases, which are thought to be among the earliest enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E Smith
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID, 83725, USA
- Department of Geosciences and Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Christopher H House
- Department of Geosciences and Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Ricardo D Arevalo
- Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Michael P Callahan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, Boise, ID, 83725, USA.
- Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA.
- Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA.
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11
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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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12
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Electrochirogenesis: The Possible Role of Low-Energy Spin-Polarized Electrons in Creating Homochirality. Symmetry (Basel) 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/sym11040528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrochirogenesis deals with the induction of chirality by polarized electrons of which those with low energy (<15 eV) are seen to be the most effective. Possible sources of such electrons in the prebiotic universe are discussed and several examples where chiral induction by these electrons have been demonstrated are given. Finally, some possible scenarios where electrochirogenesis could have played a role in forming a chiral imbalance in a prebiotic setting have been speculated on and some possible future areas of research proposed.
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13
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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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14
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Fioroni M, Tartera AK, DeYonker NJ. Propylene Oxide Formation on a Silica Surface with Peroxo Defects: Implications in Astrochemistry. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:9100-9106. [PMID: 30372070 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.8b04955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The formation of the chiral molecule propylene oxide (CH3CHCH2O) recently detected in the interstellar medium (ISM) is proposed to take place on an amorphous silicate grain surface where peroxo defects are present. A computational analysis conducted at the DFT and MP2-F12 levels of theory on a neat amorphous silica model supports such a hypothesis resulting in (a) strong thermodynamic driving forces and low activation energies allowing the synthesis of CH3CHCH2O at low temperatures, (b) chemical defects on silica surfaces promoting heterogeneous catalysis of the increasing molecular complexity found in interstellar and circumstellar medium, and (c) chemical defects that have implications on understanding how processing phases modify the nature of the reactive groups on a silica surface affecting the surface catalytic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Fioroni
- Department of Chemistry , The University of Memphis , 213 Smith Chemistry Building, Memphis , Tennessee 38152 , United States
| | - A Kelly Tartera
- Department of Chemistry , The University of Memphis , 213 Smith Chemistry Building, Memphis , Tennessee 38152 , United States
| | - Nathan J DeYonker
- Department of Chemistry , The University of Memphis , 213 Smith Chemistry Building, Memphis , Tennessee 38152 , United States
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15
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Sadagopan A. Proline autocatalysis in the origin of biological enantioenriched chirality. Chirality 2018; 31:5-10. [PMID: 30431673 DOI: 10.1002/chir.23032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2018] [Revised: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Biological enantioenriched chirality is a phenomenon that in living organisms, amino acids and carbohydrates typically have the same absolute configuration. Perhaps one of the earliest attempts to delineate the origins of this phenomenon was a theory known as asymmetric autocatalysis, a reaction in which the structures of the chiral catalyst and the product are the same, and in which the chiral product acts as a chiral catalyst for its own production. In theory, this would mean that small asymmetries in the product will propagate rapidly. However, autocatalysis also relies on the cross-inhibition of chiral states, something that would not likely be possible on primordial Earth. But recently, theories on asymmetric autocatalysis have begun to resurface as more recent findings indicate that other mechanisms exist to stabilize the homochiral states. In this study, I propose an autocatalytic cycle, and using density functional theory, prove that (1) it is plausible on primordial Earth, and (2) it propagates arbitrary asymmetries in proline. Thus, facilitating asymmetry in proline and allowing access to a wide variety of asymmetric proline-catalyzed reactions, including those involved in the synthesis of amino acids and carbohydrates from achiral precursors.
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16
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Cooper G, Rios AC, Nuevo M. Monosaccharides and Their Derivatives in Carbonaceous Meteorites: A Scenario for Their Synthesis and Onset of Enantiomeric Excesses. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8030036. [PMID: 30150578 PMCID: PMC6161268 DOI: 10.3390/life8030036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbonaceous meteorites provide the best glimpse into the solar system’s earliest physical and chemical processes. These ancient objects, ~4.56 billion years old, contain evidence of phenomena ranging from solar system formation to the synthesis of organic compounds by aqueous and (likely) low-temperature photolytic reactions. Collectively, chemical reactions resulted in an insoluble kerogen-like carbon phase and a complex mixture of discrete soluble compounds including amino acids, nucleobases, and monosaccharide (or “sugar”) derivatives. This review presents the documented search for sugars and their derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites. We examine early papers, published in the early 1960s, and note the analytical methods used for meteorite analysis as well as conclusions on the results. We then present the recent finding of sugar derivatives including sugar alcohols and several sugar acids: The latter compounds were found to possess unusual “d” enantiomeric (mirror-image) excesses. After discussions on the possible roles of interstellar grain chemistry and meteorite parent body aqueous activity in the synthesis of sugar derivatives, we present a scenario that suggests that most of Earth’s extraterrestrial sugar alcohols (e.g., glycerol) were synthesized by interstellar irradiation and/or cold grain chemistry and that the early solar disk was the location of the initial enantiomeric excesses in meteoritic sugar derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Cooper
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
| | - Andro C Rios
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
- Blue Marble Space, 1001 4th Ave, Ste 3201, Seattle, WA 98154, USA.
| | - Michel Nuevo
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
- Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
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17
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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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18
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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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19
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Dworkin JP, Adelman LA, Ajluni T, Andronikov AV, Aponte JC, Bartels AE, Beshore E, Bierhaus EB, Brucato JR, Bryan BH, Burton AS, Callahan MP, Castro-Wallace SL, Clark BC, Clemett SJ, Connolly HC, Cutlip WE, Daly SM, Elliott VE, Elsila JE, Enos HL, Everett DF, Franchi IA, Glavin DP, Graham HV, Hendershot JE, Harris JW, Hill SL, Hildebrand AR, Jayne GO, Jenkens RW, Johnson KS, Kirsch JS, Lauretta DS, Lewis AS, Loiacono JJ, Lorentson CC, Marshall JR, Martin MG, Matthias LL, McLain HL, Messenger SR, Mink RG, Moore JL, Nakamura-Messenger K, Nuth JA, Owens CV, Parish CL, Perkins BD, Pryzby MS, Reigle CA, Righter K, Rizk B, Russell JF, Sandford SA, Schepis JP, Songer J, Sovinski MF, Stahl SE, Thomas-Keprta K, Vellinga JM, Walker MS. OSIRIS-REx Contamination Control Strategy and Implementation. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2018; 214:19. [PMID: 30713357 PMCID: PMC6350808 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-017-0439-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
OSIRIS-REx will return pristine samples of carbonaceous asteroid Bennu. This article describes how pristine was defined based on expectations of Bennu and on a realistic understanding of what is achievable with a constrained schedule and budget, and how that definition flowed to requirements and implementation. To return a pristine sample, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sampling hardware was maintained at level 100 A/2 and <180 ng/cm2 of amino acids and hydrazine on the sampler head through precision cleaning, control of materials, and vigilance. Contamination is further characterized via witness material exposed to the spacecraft assembly and testing environment as well as in space. This characterization provided knowledge of the expected background and will be used in conjunction with archived spacecraft components for comparison with the samples when they are delivered to Earth for analysis. Most of all, the cleanliness of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was achieved through communication among scientists, engineers, managers, and technicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - L A Adelman
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Arctic Slope Research Corporation, Beltsville, MD USA
| | - T Ajluni
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Arctic Slope Research Corporation, Beltsville, MD USA
| | | | - J C Aponte
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
| | - A E Bartels
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - E Beshore
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - E B Bierhaus
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - J R Brucato
- INAF Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Florence, Italy
| | - B H Bryan
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - A S Burton
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | | | - B C Clark
- Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S J Clemett
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs Technology, Tullahoma, TN, USA
| | | | - W E Cutlip
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S M Daly
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
| | - V E Elliott
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J E Elsila
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - H L Enos
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - D F Everett
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - D P Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - H V Graham
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - J E Hendershot
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Ball Aerospace, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J W Harris
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - S L Hill
- Jacobs Technology, Tullahoma, TN, USA
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
| | | | - G O Jayne
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Arctic Slope Research Corporation, Beltsville, MD USA
| | - R W Jenkens
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - K S Johnson
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - J S Kirsch
- Jacobs Technology, Tullahoma, TN, USA
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
| | - D S Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - A S Lewis
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J J Loiacono
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C C Lorentson
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - M G Martin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
| | - L L Matthias
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
- Analex, Titusville, FL, USA
| | - H L McLain
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - R G Mink
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J L Moore
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | | | - J A Nuth
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C V Owens
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
| | - C L Parish
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - B D Perkins
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, USA
| | - M S Pryzby
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- ATA Aerospace, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - C A Reigle
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - K Righter
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - B Rizk
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - J F Russell
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - S A Sandford
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | - J P Schepis
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J Songer
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - M F Sovinski
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S E Stahl
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- JES Tech., Houston, TX, USA
| | - K Thomas-Keprta
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs Technology, Tullahoma, TN, USA
| | - J M Vellinga
- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, CO, USA
| | - M S Walker
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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20
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Sharma A. Enantiomeric excess by magnetic circular dichroism in Archaean atmosphere. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13295. [PMID: 29038605 PMCID: PMC5643348 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13653-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolution of homochirality requires an initial enantiomeric excess (EE) between right and left-handed biomolecules. We show that magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) of sun's ultraviolet C light by oxygen in Archaean earth's anoxic atmosphere followed by chirally selective damage of biomolecules due to circular dichroism (CD) can generate EE of correct handedness. Our calculation of EE uses published data for CD of biomolecules and accepted magnitude for Archaean earth's magnetic field. Independent of atmospheric oxygen concentration calculated EE has the same sign for all pyrimidine nucleosides which is opposite to that for amino-acids. Purine nucleosides have smaller EE values with opposite sign to pyrimidines but are less susceptible to UV damage. Homochirality is explained by origin of prebiotic life in one hemisphere of earth and its evolution to EE ~ ± 1 before reversal of terrestrial magnetic field. Chirality of biomolecules is decided by the direction of magnetic field where prebiotic life originated on Archaean earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sharma
- Department of Physics, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL, 35762, USA.
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21
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Pizzarello S, Shock E. Carbonaceous Chondrite Meteorites: the Chronicle of a Potential Evolutionary Path between Stars and Life. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2017; 47:249-260. [PMID: 28078499 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-016-9530-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The biogenic elements, H, C, N, O, P and S, have a long cosmic history, whose evolution can still be observed in diverse locales of the known universe, from interstellar clouds of gas and dust, to pre-stellar cores, nebulas, protoplanetary discs, planets and planetesimals. The best analytical window into this cosmochemical evolution as it neared Earth has been provided so far by the small bodies of the Solar System, some of which were not significantly altered by the high gravitational pressures and temperatures that accompanied the formation of larger planets and may carry a pristine record of early nebular chemistry. Asteroids have delivered such records, as their fragments reach the Earth frequently and become available for laboratory analyses. The Carbonaceous Chondrite meteorites (CC) are a group of such fragments with the further distinction of containing abundant organic materials with structures as diverse as kerogen-like macromolecules and simpler compounds with identical counterparts in Earth's biosphere. All have revealed a lineage to cosmochemical synthetic regimes. Several CC show that asteroids underwent aqueous alteration of their minerals or rock metamorphism but may yet yield clues to the reactivity of organic compounds during parent-body processes, on asteroids as well as larger ocean worlds and planets. Whether the exogenous delivery by meteorites held an advantage in Earth's molecular evolution remains an open question as many others regarding the origins of life are. Nonetheless, the natural samples of meteorites allow exploring the physical and chemical processes that might have led to a selected chemical pool amenable to the onset of life. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Pizzarello
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA.
| | - Everett Shock
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA
- School of Earth & Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85218, USA
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22
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Alexander CMO, Cody GD, De Gregorio BT, Nittler LR, Stroud RM. The nature, origin and modification of insoluble organic matter in chondrites, the possibly interstellar source of Earth's C and N. CHEMIE DER ERDE : BEITRAGE ZUR CHEMISCHEN MINERALOGIE, PETROGRAPHIE UND GEOLOGIE 2017; 77:227-256. [PMID: 31007270 PMCID: PMC6469876 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemer.2017.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
All chondrites accreted ~3.5 wt.% C in their matrices, the bulk of which was in a macromolecular solvent and acid insoluble organic material (IOM). Similar material to IOM is found in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and comets. The IOM accounts for almost all of the C and N in chondrites, and a significant fraction of the H. Chondrites and, to a lesser extent, comets were probably the major sources of volatiles for the Earth and the other terrestrial planets. Hence, IOM was both the major source of Earth's volatiles and a potential source of complex prebiotic molecules. Large enrichments in D and 15N, relative to the bulk solar isotopic compositions, suggest that IOM or its precursors formed in very cold, radiation-rich environments. Whether these environments were in the interstellar medium (ISM) or the outer Solar System is unresolved. Nevertheless, the elemental and isotopic compositions and functional group chemistry of IOM provide important clues to the origin(s) of organic matter in protoplanetary disks. IOM is modified relatively easily by thermal and aqueous processes, so that it can also be used to constrain the conditions in the solar nebula prior to chondrite accretion and the conditions in the chondrite parent bodies after accretion. Here we review what is known about the abundances, compositions and physical nature of IOM in the most primitive chondrites. We also discuss how the IOM has been modified by thermal metamorphism and aqueous alteration in the chondrite parent bodies, and how these changes may be used both as petrologic indicators of the intensity of parent body processing and as tools for classification. Finally, we critically assess the various proposed mechanisms for the formation of IOM in the ISM or Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M O'D Alexander
- Dept. Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - G D Cody
- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - B T De Gregorio
- Dept. Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L R Nittler
- Dept. Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - R M Stroud
- Materials Science and Technology Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
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23
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Kebukawa Y, Chan QHS, Tachibana S, Kobayashi K, Zolensky ME. One-pot synthesis of amino acid precursors with insoluble organic matter in planetesimals with aqueous activity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1602093. [PMID: 28345041 PMCID: PMC5357131 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The exogenous delivery of organic molecules could have played an important role in the emergence of life on the early Earth. Carbonaceous chondrites are known to contain indigenous amino acids as well as various organic compounds and complex macromolecular materials, such as the so-called insoluble organic matter (IOM), but the origins of the organic matter are still subject to debate. We report that the water-soluble amino acid precursors are synthesized from formaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, and ammonia with the presence of liquid water, simultaneously with macromolecular organic solids similar to the chondritic IOM. Amino acid products from hydrothermal experiments after acid hydrolysis include α-, β-, and γ-amino acids up to five carbons, for which relative abundances are similar to those extracted from carbonaceous chondrites. One-pot aqueous processing from simple ubiquitous molecules can thus produce a wide variety of meteoritic organic matter from amino acid precursors to macromolecular IOM in chondrite parent bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoko Kebukawa
- Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
- Corresponding author.
| | - Queenie H. S. Chan
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Shogo Tachibana
- Department of Natural History Sciences, Hokkaido University, N10 W8, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Kensei Kobayashi
- Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Michael E. Zolensky
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058, USA
- Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, TX 77058, USA
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24
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Kua J, Sweet LM. Preliminary Oligomerization in a Glycolic Acid–Glycine Mixture: A Free Energy Map. J Phys Chem A 2016; 120:7577-88. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b08076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Kua
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, California 92110, United States
| | - Lauren M. Sweet
- Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, California 92110, United States
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25
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Pizzarello S. Identifying Chiral Molecules and their Enantiomeric Excesses in Extraterrestrial Samples: An Experimental Journey. Isr J Chem 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.201600039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Pizzarello
- Arizona State University; School of Molecular Sciences; Tempe AZ 85018-1604 (USA)
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26
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DEUTERIUM FRACTIONATION DURING AMINO ACID FORMATION BY PHOTOLYSIS OF INTERSTELLAR ICE ANALOGS CONTAINING DEUTERATED METHANOL. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.3847/2041-8205/827/1/l18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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27
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Myrgorodska I, Meinert C, Hoffmann SV, Jones NC, Nahon L, Meierhenrich UJ. Light on Chirality: Absolute Asymmetric Formation of Chiral Molecules Relevant in Prebiotic Evolution. Chempluschem 2016; 82:74-87. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201600214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Iuliia Myrgorodska
- Institut de Chimie de Nice ICN, UMR CNRS 7272; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté des Sciences; Parc Valrose 06108 Nice France
- Synchrotron SOLEIL; L'Orme des Merisiers; BP 48 Saint Aubin 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette France
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice ICN, UMR CNRS 7272; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté des Sciences; Parc Valrose 06108 Nice France
| | - Søren V. Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Aarhus University; 8000 Aarhus C Denmark
| | - Nykola C. Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Aarhus University; 8000 Aarhus C Denmark
| | - Laurent Nahon
- Synchrotron SOLEIL; L'Orme des Merisiers; BP 48 Saint Aubin 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette France
| | - Uwe J. Meierhenrich
- Institut de Chimie de Nice ICN, UMR CNRS 7272; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté des Sciences; Parc Valrose 06108 Nice France
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28
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Valero G, Moyano A. Cooperative Effects Between Arginine and Glutamic Acid in the Amino Acid-Catalyzed Aldol Reaction. Chirality 2016; 28:599-605. [PMID: 27362554 DOI: 10.1002/chir.22618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Catalysis of the aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde by mixtures of L-Arg and of L-Glu in wet dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) takes place with higher enantioselectivity (up to a 7-fold enhancement in the anti-aldol for the 1:1 mixture) than that observed when either L-Glu or L-Arg alone are used as the catalysts. These results can be explained by the formation of a catalytically active hydrogen-bonded complex between both amino acids, and demonstrate the possibility of positive cooperative effects in catalysis by two different α-amino acids. Chirality 28:599-605, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillem Valero
- Departament de Química Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Química, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Albert Moyano
- Departament de Química Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Química, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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29
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Elsila JE, Aponte JC, Blackmond DG, Burton AS, Dworkin JP, Glavin DP. Meteoritic Amino Acids: Diversity in Compositions Reflects Parent Body Histories. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2016; 2:370-9. [PMID: 27413780 PMCID: PMC4919777 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.6b00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The analysis of amino acids in meteorites dates back over 50 years; however, it is only in recent years that research has expanded beyond investigations of a narrow set of meteorite groups (exemplified by the Murchison meteorite) into meteorites of other types and classes. These new studies have shown a wide diversity in the abundance and distribution of amino acids across carbonaceous chondrite groups, highlighting the role of parent body processes and composition in the creation, preservation, or alteration of amino acids. Although most chiral amino acids are racemic in meteorites, the enantiomeric distribution of some amino acids, particularly of the nonprotein amino acid isovaline, has also been shown to vary both within certain meteorites and across carbonaceous meteorite groups. Large l-enantiomeric excesses of some extraterrestrial protein amino acids (up to ∼60%) have also been observed in rare cases and point to nonbiological enantiomeric enrichment processes prior to the emergence of life. In this Outlook, we review these recent meteoritic analyses, focusing on variations in abundance, structural distributions, and enantiomeric distributions of amino acids and discussing possible explanations for these observations and the potential for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie E. Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- E-mail:
| | - José C. Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, Catholic University, Washington, D.C. 20064, United States
| | - Donna G. Blackmond
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research
Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration
Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Daniel P. Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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30
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Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E3322-31. [PMID: 27247410 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1603030113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological polymers such as nucleic acids and proteins are constructed of only one-the d or l-of the two possible nonsuperimposable mirror images (enantiomers) of selected organic compounds. However, before the advent of life, it is generally assumed that chemical reactions produced 50:50 (racemic) mixtures of enantiomers, as evidenced by common abiotic laboratory syntheses. Carbonaceous meteorites contain clues to prebiotic chemistry because they preserve a record of some of the Solar System's earliest (∼4.5 Gy) chemical and physical processes. In multiple carbonaceous meteorites, we show that both rare and common sugar monoacids (aldonic acids) contain significant excesses of the d enantiomer, whereas other (comparable) sugar acids and sugar alcohols are racemic. Although the proposed origins of such excesses are still tentative, the findings imply that meteoritic compounds and/or the processes that operated on meteoritic precursors may have played an ancient role in the enantiomer composition of life's carbohydrate-related biopolymers.
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31
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Molecular Asymmetry in Prebiotic Chemistry: An Account from Meteorites. Life (Basel) 2016; 6:life6020018. [PMID: 27089368 PMCID: PMC4931455 DOI: 10.3390/life6020018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbonaceous Chondrite (CC) meteorites are fragments of asteroids, solar planetesimals that never became large enough to separate matter by their density, like terrestrial planets. CC contains various amounts of organic carbon and carry a record of chemical evolution as it came to be in the Solar System, at the time the Earth was formed and before the origins of life. We review this record as it pertains to the chiral asymmetry determined for several organic compounds in CC, which reaches a broad molecular distribution and enantiomeric excesses of up to 50%–60%. Because homochirality is an indispensable attribute of extant polymers and these meteoritic enantiomeric excesses are still, to date, the only case of chiral asymmetry in organic molecules measured outside the biosphere, the possibility of an exogenous delivery of primed prebiotic compounds to early Earth from meteorites is often proposed. Whether this exogenous delivery held a chiral advantage in molecular evolution remains an open question, as many others regarding the origins of life are.
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32
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Oba Y, Watanabe N, Osamura Y, Kouchi A. Chiral glycine formation on cold interstellar grains by quantum tunneling hydrogen–deuterium substitution reactions. Chem Phys Lett 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2015.05.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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33
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Meinert C, Cassam-Chenaï P, Jones NC, Nahon L, Hoffmann SV, Meierhenrich UJ. Anisotropy-Guided Enantiomeric Enhancement in Alanine Using Far-UV Circularly Polarized Light. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2015; 45:149-61. [PMID: 25773582 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-015-9413-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2014] [Accepted: 12/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
All life on Earth is characterized by its asymmetry - both the genetic material and proteins are composed of homochiral monomers. Understanding how this molecular asymmetry initially arose is a key question related to the origins of life. Cometary ice simulations, L-enantiomeric enriched amino acids in meteorites and the detection of circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation in star-forming regions point to a possible interstellar/protostellar generation of stereochemical asymmetry. Based upon our recently recorded anisotropy spectra g(λ) of amino acids in the vacuum-UV range, we subjected amorphous films of racemic (13)C-alanine to far-UV circularly polarized synchrotron radiation to probe the asymmetric photon-molecule interaction under interstellar conditions. Optical purities of up to 4% were reached, which correlate with our theoretical predictions. Importantly, we show that chiral symmetry breaking using circularly polarized light is dependent on both the helicity and the wavelength of incident light. In order to predict such stereocontrol, time-dependent density functional theory was used to calculate anisotropy spectra. The calculated anisotropy spectra show good agreement with the experimental ones. The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, which successfully landed Philae on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014, will investigate the configuration of chiral compounds and thereby obtain data that are to be interpreted in the context of the results presented here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice ICN, CNRS UMR 7272, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, 06108, Nice, France,
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34
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Mass spectrometric analysis of selected radiolyzed amino acids in an astrochemical context. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-014-3078-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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35
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Michel CJ, Seligmann H. Bijective transformation circular codes and nucleotide exchanging RNA transcription. Biosystems 2014; 118:39-50. [PMID: 24565870 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2014.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/12/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The C(3) self-complementary circular code X identified in genes of prokaryotes and eukaryotes is a set of 20 trinucleotides enabling reading frame retrieval and maintenance, i.e. a framing code (Arquès and Michel, 1996; Michel, 2012, 2013). Some mitochondrial RNAs correspond to DNA sequences when RNA transcription systematically exchanges between nucleotides (Seligmann, 2013a,b). We study here the 23 bijective transformation codes ΠX of X which may code nucleotide exchanging RNA transcription as suggested by this mitochondrial observation. The 23 bijective transformation codes ΠX are C(3) trinucleotide circular codes, seven of them are also self-complementary. Furthermore, several correlations are observed between the Reading Frame Retrieval (RFR) probability of bijective transformation codes ΠX and the different biological properties of ΠX related to their numbers of RNAs in GenBank's EST database, their polymerization rate, their number of amino acids and the chirality of amino acids they code. Results suggest that the circular code X with the functions of reading frame retrieval and maintenance in regular RNA transcription, may also have, through its bijective transformation codes ΠX, the same functions in nucleotide exchanging RNA transcription. Associations with properties such as amino acid chirality suggest that the RFR of X and its bijective transformations molded the origins of the genetic code's machinery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian J Michel
- Equipe de Bioinformatique Théorique, ICube, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 300 Boulevard Sébastien Brant, 67400 Illkirch, France.
| | - Hervé Seligmann
- National Natural History Museum Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Life Sciences, Ben Gurion University, 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel.
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36
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Nishino H, Hosaka M, Katoh M, Inoue Y. Photoreaction of rac-leucine in ice by circularly polarized synchrotron radiation: temperature-induced mechanism switching from Norrish Type II to deamination. Chemistry 2013; 19:13929-36. [PMID: 24038443 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201301831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2013] [Revised: 07/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The delivery of extraterrestrial organics to primitive Earth is considered to have triggered the origin and subsequent evolution of life. Indeed, enantiomerically enriched amino acids of nonterrestrial origin have been found in carbonaceous meteorites, and enantioselective photodecomposition by circularly polarized light (CPL) in outer space has been proposed to have played some role in the initial enantiomeric bias. To experimentally examine this possibility and elucidate the photoreaction mechanisms, we have studied the photolysis of racemic leucine (rac-Leu) in acidic and neutral ice/water media at 21-298 K with left- and right-CPL in an attempt to detect enantiomerically enriched D- and L-Leu, respectively. Comprehensive product analyses revealed that the CPL-induced deracemization of Leu proceeds in both acidic and neutral ice matrices even at 21 K, and that the main mechanism switches from Norrish-type II γ-hydrogen abstraction to SN i deamination on lowering the temperature. The potential role of the CPL-induced photodecomposition of amino acids as a source of the enantiomer imbalance in meteorites is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideo Nishino
- Entropy Control Project (Japan) Science and Technology Agency; Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute, 1-6-50 Morinomiya, Joto-ku, Osaka 536-8553 (Japan)
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37
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Stability toward High Energy Radiation of Non-Proteinogenic Amino Acids: Implications for the Origins of Life. Life (Basel) 2013; 3:449-73. [PMID: 25369815 PMCID: PMC4187172 DOI: 10.3390/life3030449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2013] [Accepted: 07/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of non-proteinogenic amino acids, most of them found quite commonly in the meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites, were subjected to solid state radiolysis in vacuum to a total radiation dose of 3.2 MGy corresponding to 23% of the total dose expected to be taken by organic molecules buried in asteroids and meteorites since the beginning of the solar system 4.6 × 109 years ago. The radiolyzed amino acids were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and by polarimety and Optical Rotatory Dispersion (ORD). It is shown that an important fraction of each amino acid is able to “survive” the massive dose of radiation, while the enantiomeric excess is partially preserved. Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that it is unsurprising to find amino acids even in enantiomeric excess in carbonaceous chondrites.
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38
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Reply to Elsila et al.: Large enantiomeric excesses in primitive meteorites, an analytical and computational supplement. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012. [DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213714109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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39
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Li F, Fitz D, Rode BM. Isoleucine as a possible bridge between exogenous delivery and terrestrial enhancement of homochirality. Amino Acids 2012; 44:725-32. [PMID: 22968664 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-012-1396-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2011] [Accepted: 08/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We report a highly enantioselective oligomerization of isoleucine stereomers in the salt-induced peptide formation reaction under plausibly prebiotic earth conditions. Up to 6.5-fold superiority in reactivity of L-isoleucine was observed, compared to its D-enantiomer, after 14 evaporation cycles in the presence of Cu(2+) and NaCl. Since isoleucine is among the proteinogenic amino acids that were found enantioenriched in meteorites, this present work may further correlate the extraterrestrial delivery and endogenous production of biological homochirality by virtue of a protein constituent rather than the rarely occurring α-methylated amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Li
- Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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40
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Solid state radiolysis of non-proteinaceous amino acids in vacuum: astrochemical implications. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-012-2167-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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41
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Wu M, Walker SI, Higgs PG. Autocatalytic replication and homochirality in biopolymers: is homochirality a requirement of life or a result of it? ASTROBIOLOGY 2012; 12:818-829. [PMID: 22931294 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2012.0819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
A key step in the origin of life is the establishment of autocatalytic cycles controlled by biopolymer catalysts. These catalysts (either ribozymes or proteins) are composed of homochiral monomers. Homochirality in living systems is maintained because biopolymers are asymmetric in their catalysis and synthesize molecules of their own handedness. Asymmetric autocatalysis is also possible with small molecules, as demonstrated by the Soai reaction, but it is rare. As far as we know, single nucleotides and amino acids are not autocatalytic. The observation that organic molecules in meteorites can have an enantiomeric excess of a few percent suggests that the prebiotic mixture may have had a partial chiral bias that was caused by external physical influences. Here, we consider the way that such a partial prebiotic bias would influence the origin of ribozymes in an RNA world scenario. We have previously shown how a transition to a living state can occur in a model for RNA polymerization. Here, we add chirality to the problem by considering simultaneous synthesis and polymerization of left- and right-handed monomers. The two chemical synthesis rates may be equal or unequal, due to physical or chemical effects prior to the origin of life. We determine the stationary states of this reaction system. The nonliving state is racemic, or slightly biased. There are two living states that are almost completely homochiral, whether or not the nonliving state is biased. It is a feature of our model that, for some regions of parameter space, living and nonliving states are both found to be stable under the same conditions. The origin of life therefore involves a stochastic transition between the nonliving and living states. Our model extends previous theories by treating the origin of life and the origin of chirality as aspects of the same model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Wu
- Origins Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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42
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Large enantiomeric excesses in primitive meteorites and the diverse effects of water in cosmochemical evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:11949-54. [PMID: 22778439 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204865109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbonaceous chondrites are meteoritic fragments of asteroids that avoided the geological reprocessing of larger planets and allow laboratory probing of early solar-nebula materials. Among these, Renazzo-type (CR) chondrites found in Antarctica appear remarkably pristine and are distinguished by abundant organic materials and water-soluble molecules such as amino acids and ammonia. We present a comprehensive analysis of the organic composition of selected CR meteorites of different petrographic classification and compare compounds' abundance and distribution as they may relate to asteroidal aqueous processing and concomitant evolution of the mineral phases. We found that several CR compounds such as amino acids and sugar alcohols are fully represented in stones with no or minimal water exposure indicating a formation that, if solar, preceded parent body processes. The most pristine CRs also revealed natal enantiomeric excesses (ee) of up to 60%, much larger than ever recorded. However, aqueous alteration appears to affect CR soluble organic composition and abundances, in particular some diastereomeric amino acids may gauge its extent by the consequent racemization of their ee.
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43
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Burton AS, Stern JC, Elsila JE, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP. Understanding prebiotic chemistry through the analysis of extraterrestrial amino acids and nucleobases in meteorites. Chem Soc Rev 2012; 41:5459-72. [PMID: 22706603 DOI: 10.1039/c2cs35109a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The discoveries of amino acids of extraterrestrial origin in many meteorites over the last 50 years have revolutionized the Astrobiology field. A variety of non-terrestrial amino acids similar to those found in life on Earth have been detected in meteorites. A few amino acids have even been found with chiral excesses, suggesting that meteorites could have contributed to the origin of homochirality in life on Earth. In addition to amino acids, which have been productively studied for years, sugar-like molecules, activated phosphates, and nucleobases have also been determined to be indigenous to numerous meteorites. Because these molecules are essential for life as we know it, and meteorites have been delivering them to the Earth since accretion, it is plausible that the origin(s) of life on Earth were aided by extraterrestrially-synthesized molecules. Understanding the origins of life on Earth guides our search for life elsewhere, helping to answer the question of whether biology is unique to Earth. This tutorial review focuses on meteoritic amino acids and nucleobases, exploring modern analytical methods and possible formation mechanisms. We will also discuss the unique window that meteorites provide into the chemistry that preceded life on Earth, a chemical record we do not have access to on Earth due to geologic recycling of rocks and the pervasiveness of biology across the planet. Finally, we will address the future of meteorite research, including asteroid sample return missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron S Burton
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
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44
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Cintas P, Viedma C. On the physical basis of asymmetry and homochirality. Chirality 2012; 24:894-908. [PMID: 22678980 DOI: 10.1002/chir.22028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2011] [Accepted: 02/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Mirror symmetry breaking is ubiquitous in our visible universe taking place in elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. Molecular chirality is not biogenic in itself, although its detection is often considered a biosignature, a conjecture inferred from the fact that we do not know life devoid of homochirality. The question of whether there is a connection between the cosmic preference for one enantiomer, as imposed by the weak force, and the single chirality displayed on Earth is vividly debated. This article gives a glimpse on the origin of asymmetry from a cosmological perspective and on physical transformations that lead to an enantiomeric imbalance, leaving chemical reactions essentially aside. These processes are more plausible as sources of prebiotic chirality than asymmetric amplifications requiring unnatural substrates and conditions and fighting against racemization. The latter may actually be a friend, not foe, and a driving force for enantioselection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Cintas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica e Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.
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45
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Abstract
AbstractThe insoluble organic material preserved in primitive chondritic meteorites shares many similarities with the refractory organic material in interplanetary dust particles and comets, suggesting that there is a genetic link between the organic matter in objects that formed between ~3 AU and ~30 AU from the Sun. These similarities include large D and 15N enrichments in bulk and even more extreme enrichments in isotopic hotspots. The enrichments attest to formation in very cold environments, either in the outer Solar System or the protosolar molecular cloud. There are many properties of this organic material that are consistent with an interstellar origin, but a Solar System origin cannot be ruled out. Similar organic material is presumably an important component of most protoplanetary disks, and heating or sputtering of this material would be a source of PAHs in disks. The soluble organic matter was more heavily effected by processes on the chondritic parent bodies than the insoluble material. Amino acids, for instance, probably formed by reaction of ketones and aldehydes with NH3 and HCN. The accretion of the relatively volatile NH3 and HCN, presumably in ices, strengthens the chondrite-comet connection. However, unlike most comets the water in chondrites, when it was accreted, had D/H ratios that were similar to or depleted relative to Earth.
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46
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Gas chromatographic enantioseparation of derivatized α-amino acids on chiral stationary phases—Past and present. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2011; 879:3122-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2011.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2011] [Revised: 03/28/2011] [Accepted: 04/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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47
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Meinert C, de Marcellus P, d'Hendecourt LLS, Nahon L, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Bredehöft JH, Meierhenrich UJ. Photochirogenesis: photochemical models on the absolute asymmetric formation of amino acids in interstellar space. Phys Life Rev 2011; 8:307-30. [PMID: 21924690 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2011.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2011] [Accepted: 08/26/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Proteins of all living organisms including plants, animals, and humans are made up of amino acid monomers that show identical stereochemical L-configuration. Hypotheses for the origin of this symmetry breaking in biomolecules include the absolute asymmetric photochemistry model by which interstellar ultraviolet (UV) circularly polarized light (CPL) induces an enantiomeric excess in chiral organic molecules in the interstellar/circumstellar media. This scenario is supported by a) the detection of amino acids in the organic residues of UV-photo-processed interstellar ice analogues, b) the occurrence of L-enantiomer-enriched amino acids in carbonaceous meteorites, and c) the observation of CPL of the same helicity over large distance scales in the massive star-forming region of Orion. These topics are of high importance in topical biophysical research and will be discussed in this review. Further evidence that amino acids and other molecules of prebiotic interest are asymmetrically formed in space comes from studies on the enantioselective photolysis of amino acids by UV-CPL. Also, experiments have been performed on the absolute asymmetric photochemical synthesis of enantiomer-enriched amino acids from mixtures of astrophysically relevant achiral precursor molecules using UV-circularly polarized photons. Both approaches are based on circular dichroic transitions of amino acids that will be highlighted here as well. These results have strong implications on our current understanding of how life's precursor molecules were possibly built and how life selected the left-handed form of proteinogenic amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Meinert
- Faculté des Sciences, UMR 6001 CNRS, LCMBA, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, France.
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48
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Radiation-induced polymerization of β(+)-pinene and synthesis of optically active β(+)/β(−)pinene polymers and copolymers. Radiat Phys Chem Oxf Engl 1993 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2011.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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49
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Vandenbussche S, Reisse J, Bartik K, Lievin J. The search for a deterministic origin for the presence of nonracemic amino-acids in meteorites: a computational approach. Chirality 2011; 23:367-73. [PMID: 21488103 DOI: 10.1002/chir.20933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2010] [Revised: 09/29/2010] [Accepted: 10/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Amino-acid enantiomeric excesses (ee's) have been detected in different types of carbonaceous chondrites, all in favor of the L enantiomer. In this article, we discuss possible deterministic causes to the presence of these amino-acid ee's in meteorites and evaluate in particular enantioselective photolysis by circularly polarized light (CPL). The electronic circular dichroism spectra of a set of amino- and hydroxy-acids, all detected in chondritic matter but some with ee's and others without ee's, were calculated and compared. The spectra were calculated for the most stable conformation(s) of the considered molecules using quantum mechanical methods (density functional theory). Our results suggest that CPL photolysis in the gas phase was perhaps not at the origin of the presence of ee's in meteorites and that the search for another, but still unknown, deterministic cause must be seriously undertaken.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Vandenbussche
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles, Matières et Matériaux, Brussels, Belgium
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Pizzarello S. Prebiotic chemical evolution: a meteoritic perspective. RENDICONTI LINCEI-SCIENZE FISICHE E NATURALI 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s12210-011-0124-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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