1
|
Wang J, Marks JH, Fortenberry RC, Kaiser RI. Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH 2CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadl3236. [PMID: 38478624 PMCID: PMC10936953 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Glyceric acid [HOCH2CH(OH)COOH]-the simplest sugar acid-represents a key molecule in biochemical processes vital for metabolism in living organisms such as glycolysis. Although critically linked to the origins of life and identified in carbonaceous meteorites with abundances comparable to amino acids, the underlying mechanisms of its formation have remained elusive. Here, we report the very first abiotic synthesis of racemic glyceric acid via the barrierless radical-radical reaction of the hydroxycarbonyl radical (HOĊO) with 1,2-dihydroxyethyl (HOĊHCH2OH) radical in low-temperature carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH) ices. Using isomer-selective vacuum ultraviolet photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry, glyceric acid was identified in the gas phase based on the adiabatic ionization energies and isotopic substitution studies. This work reveals the key reaction pathways for glyceric acid synthesis through nonequilibrium reactions from ubiquitous precursor molecules, advancing our fundamental knowledge of the formation pathways of key biorelevant organics-sugar acids-in deep space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Joshua H. Marks
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ryan C. Fortenberry
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rodriguez LE, Altair T, Hermis NY, Jia TZ, Roche TP, Steller LH, Weber JM. Chapter 4: A Geological and Chemical Context for the Origins of Life on Early Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:S76-S106. [PMID: 38498817 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0139] [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: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Within the first billion years of Earth's history, the planet transformed from a hot, barren, and inhospitable landscape to an environment conducive to the emergence and persistence of life. This chapter will review the state of knowledge concerning early Earth's (Hadean/Eoarchean) geochemical environment, including the origin and composition of the planet's moon, crust, oceans, atmosphere, and organic content. It will also discuss abiotic geochemical cycling of the CHONPS elements and how these species could have been converted to biologically relevant building blocks, polymers, and chemical networks. Proposed environments for abiogenesis events are also described and evaluated. An understanding of the geochemical processes under which life may have emerged can better inform our assessment of the habitability of other worlds, the potential complexity that abiotic chemistry can achieve (which has implications for putative biosignatures), and the possibility for biochemistries that are vastly different from those on Earth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Rodriguez
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA. (Current)
| | - Thiago Altair
- Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA. (Current)
| | - Ninos Y Hermis
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, University of Granada, Granada Spain. (Current)
| | - Tony Z Jia
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Tyler P Roche
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Luke H Steller
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bocková J, Garcia AD, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Meinert C. Chiroptical properties of membrane glycerophospholipids and their chiral backbones. Chirality 2024; 36:e23654. [PMID: 38419414 DOI: 10.1002/chir.23654] [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: 01/13/2024] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Glycerophospholipid membranes are one of the key cellular components. Still, their species-dependent composition and homochirality remain an elusive subject. In the context of the astrophysical circularly polarized light scenario likely involved in the generation of a chiral bias in meteoritic amino and sugar acids in space, and consequently in the origin of life's homochirality on Earth, this study reports the first measurements of circular dichroism and anisotropy spectra of a selection of glycerophospholipids, their chiral backbones and their analogs. The rather low asymmetry in the interaction of UV/VUV circularly polarized light with sn-glycerol-1/3-phosphate indicates that chiral photons would have been unlikely to directly induce symmetry breaking to membrane lipids. In contrast, the anisotropy spectra of d-3-phosphoglyceric acid and d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate unveil up to 20 and 100 times higher maximum anisotropy factor values, respectively. This first experimental report, targeted on investigating the origins of phospholipid symmetry breaking, opens up new avenues of research to explore alternative mechanisms leading to membrane lipid homochirality, while providing important clues for the search for chiral biosignatures of extant and/or extinct life in space, in particular for the ExoMars 2028 mission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Bocková
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Adrien D Garcia
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Schaible MJ, Szeinbaum N, Bozdag GO, Chou L, Grefenstette N, Colón-Santos S, Rodriguez LE, Styczinski MJ, Thweatt JL, Todd ZR, Vázquez-Salazar A, Adams A, Araújo MN, Altair T, Borges S, Burton D, Campillo-Balderas JA, Cangi EM, Caro T, Catalano E, Chen K, Conlin PL, Cooper ZS, Fisher TM, Fos SM, Garcia A, Glaser DM, Harman CE, Hermis NY, Hooks M, Johnson-Finn K, Lehmer O, Hernández-Morales R, Hughson KHG, Jácome R, Jia TZ, Marlow JJ, McKaig J, Mierzejewski V, Muñoz-Velasco I, Nural C, Oliver GC, Penev PI, Raj CG, Roche TP, Sabuda MC, Schaible GA, Sevgen S, Sinhadc P, Steller LH, Stelmach K, Tarnas J, Tavares F, Trubl G, Vidaurri M, Vincent L, Weber JM, Weng MM, Wilpiszeki RL, Young A. Chapter 1: The Astrobiology Primer 3.0. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:S4-S39. [PMID: 38498816 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0129] [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: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
The Astrobiology Primer 3.0 (ABP3.0) is a concise introduction to the field of astrobiology for students and others who are new to the field of astrobiology. It provides an entry into the broader materials in this supplementary issue of Astrobiology and an overview of the investigations and driving hypotheses that make up this interdisciplinary field. The content of this chapter was adapted from the other 10 articles in this supplementary issue and thus represents the contribution of all the authors who worked on these introductory articles. The content of this chapter is not exhaustive and represents the topics that the authors found to be the most important and compelling in a dynamic and changing field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Micah J Schaible
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Nadia Szeinbaum
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - G Ozan Bozdag
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Luoth Chou
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Natalie Grefenstette
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Stephanie Colón-Santos
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Laura E Rodriguez
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - M J Styczinski
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Jennifer L Thweatt
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Zoe R Todd
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Alberto Vázquez-Salazar
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alyssa Adams
- Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - M N Araújo
- Biochemistry Department, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Thiago Altair
- Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA
| | | | - Dana Burton
- Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | | | - Eryn M Cangi
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Tristan Caro
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Enrico Catalano
- Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, The BioRobotics Institute, Pisa, Italy
| | - Kimberly Chen
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Peter L Conlin
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Z S Cooper
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Theresa M Fisher
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Santiago Mestre Fos
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Amanda Garcia
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - D M Glaser
- Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Chester E Harman
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ninos Y Hermis
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - M Hooks
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - K Johnson-Finn
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
| | - Owen Lehmer
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Ricardo Hernández-Morales
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Kynan H G Hughson
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Rodrigo Jácome
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Tony Z Jia
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jeffrey J Marlow
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jordan McKaig
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Veronica Mierzejewski
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Israel Muñoz-Velasco
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ceren Nural
- Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gina C Oliver
- Department of Geology, San Bernardino Valley College, San Bernardino, California, USA
| | - Petar I Penev
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Chinmayee Govinda Raj
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Tyler P Roche
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Mary C Sabuda
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - George A Schaible
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Serhat Sevgen
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Erdemli, Mersin, Turkey
| | - Pritvik Sinhadc
- BEYOND: Center For Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
- Dubai College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Luke H Steller
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
| | - Kamil Stelmach
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - J Tarnas
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Frank Tavares
- Space Enabled Research Group, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gareth Trubl
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA
| | - Monica Vidaurri
- Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Howard University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Lena Vincent
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Amber Young
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Schaible MJ, Todd ZR, Cangi EM, Harman CE, Hughson KHG, Stelmach K. Chapter 3: The Origins and Evolution of Planetary Systems. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:S57-S75. [PMID: 38498821 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0127] [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: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
The materials that form the diverse chemicals and structures on Earth-from mountains to oceans and biological organisms-all originated in a universe dominated by hydrogen and helium. Over billions of years, the composition and structure of the galaxies and stars evolved, and the elements of life, CHONPS, were formed through nucleosynthesis in stellar cores. Climactic events such as supernovae and stellar collisions produced heavier elements and spread them throughout the cosmos, often to be incorporated into new, more metal-rich stars. Stars typically form in molecular clouds containing small amounts of dust through the collapse of a high-density core. The surrounding nebular material is then pulled into a protoplanetary disk, from which planets, moons, asteroids, and comets eventually accrete. During the accretion of planetary systems, turbulent mixing can expose matter to a variety of different thermal and radiative environments. Chemical and physical changes in planetary system materials occur before and throughout the process of accretion, though many factors such as distance from the star, impact history, and level of heating experienced combine to ultimately determine the final geophysical characteristics. In Earth's planetary system, called the Solar System, after the orbits of the planets had settled into their current configuration, large impacts became rare, and the composition of and relative positions of objects became largely fixed. Further evolution of the respective chemical and physical environments of the planets-geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere-then became dependent on their local geochemistry, their atmospheric interactions with solar radiation, and smaller asteroid impacts. On Earth, the presence of land, air, and water, along with an abundance of important geophysical and geochemical phenomena, led to a habitable planet where conditions were right for life to thrive.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Micah J Schaible
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Zoe R Todd
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Eryn M Cangi
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | | | - Kynan H G Hughson
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Kamil Stelmach
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hirakawa Y, Kakegawa T, Furukawa Y. Hexose phosphorylation for a non-enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway on early Earth. Sci Rep 2024; 14:264. [PMID: 38168787 PMCID: PMC10762079 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50743-8] [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: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways play essential roles in cellular processes and are assumed to be among the most ancient metabolic pathways. Non-enzymatic metabolism-like reactions might have occurred on the prebiotic Earth and been inherited by the biological reactions. Previous research has identified a part of the non-enzymatic glycolysis and the non-enzymatic pentose phosphate pathway from glucose 6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate, which are intermediates of these reactions. However, how these phosphorylated molecules were formed on the prebiotic Earth remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of glucose and gluconate from simple aldehydes in alkaline solutions and the formation of glucose 6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate with borate using thermal evaporation. These results imply that the initial stages of glycolysis-like and pentose phosphate pathway-like reactions were achieved in borate-rich evaporative environments on prebiotic Earth, suggesting that non-enzymatic metabolism provided biomolecules and their precursors on prebiotic Earth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Hirakawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Takeshi Kakegawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Fang X, De C, Huang FT, Xu X, Du K, Wang K, Li B, Cheong SW. Ferrorotational Selectivity in Ilmenites. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:28022-28029. [PMID: 38108596 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c08635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Unlike what happens in conventional ferroics, the ferrorotational (FR) domain manipulation and visualization in FR materials are nontrivial as they are invariant under both space-inversion and time-reversal operations. FR domains have recently been observed by using the linear electrogyration (EG) effect and X-ray diffraction (XRD) diffraction mapping. However, ferrorotational selectivity, such as the selective processing of the FR domains and direct visualization of the FR domains, e.g., under an optical microscope, would be the next step to study the FR domains and their possible applications in technology. Unexpectedly, we discovered that the microscopic FR structural distortions in ilmenite crystals can be directly coupled with macroscopic mechanical rotations in such a way that FR domains can be visualized under an optical microscope after innovative rotational polishing, a combined ion milling with a specific rotational polishing, or a twisting-induced fracturing process. Thus, the FR domains could be a unique medium to register the memory of a rotational mechanical process due to a novel selective coupling between its microscopic structural rotations and an external macroscopic rotation. Analogous to the important enantioselectivity in modern chemistry and the pharmaceutical industry, this newly discovered ferrorotational selectivity opens up opportunities for FR manipulation and new FR functionality-based applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochen Fang
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Chandan De
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Fei-Ting Huang
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Xianghan Xu
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Kai Du
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Kefeng Wang
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Bingqing Li
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Sang-Wook Cheong
- Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chieffo C, Shvetsova A, Skorda F, Lopez A, Fiore M. The Origin and Early Evolution of Life: Homochirality Emergence in Prebiotic Environments. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1368-1382. [PMID: 37862227 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0007] [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: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Homochirality is one of the signatures of life. Numerous geological and prebiotic chemistry studies have proved that disordered soups containing small organic molecules, gases, liquids, and minerals (such as those containing phosphorous) yielded racemic mixtures of building blocks for biomolecule assembly. Polymers obtained from these bricks should have been enantiopure with functional properties similar to modern biomolecules or heterochiral with some functions such as catalyzing a chemical transformation unspecifically. Up until now, no clues have been found as to how symmetry breaking occurred. In this review, we highlight the principal achievements regarding the emergence of homochirality during the prebiotic synthesis of building blocks. Furthermore, we tried to focus on approaches based on prebiotic systems chemistry (bottom-up) and laboratory scales to simulate plausible prebiotic messy environments for the emergence of life. We aim with this review to assemble, even partially, the puzzle pieces of the origin of life regarding the relevant phenomenon of homochiral symmetry breaking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Chieffo
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (UMR 5246), Villeurbanne, France
- Laboratoire des biomolécules, LBM, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Anastasiia Shvetsova
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (UMR 5246), Villeurbanne, France
- Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Fryni Skorda
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (UMR 5246), Villeurbanne, France
- Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecully, France
| | - Augustin Lopez
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (UMR 5246), Villeurbanne, France
| | - Michele Fiore
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires (UMR 5246), Villeurbanne, France
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Distinguishing Biotic vs. Abiotic Origins of ‘Bio’signatures: Clues from Messy Prebiotic Chemistry for Detection of Life in the Universe. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13030766. [PMID: 36983921 PMCID: PMC10058490 DOI: 10.3390/life13030766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
It is not a stretch to say that the search for extraterrestrial life is possibly the biggest of the cosmic endeavors that humankind has embarked upon. With the continued discovery of several Earth-like exoplanets, the hope of detecting potential biosignatures is multiplying amongst researchers in the astrobiology community. However, to be able to discern these signatures as being truly of biological origin, we also need to consider their probable abiotic origin. The field of prebiotic chemistry, which is aimed at understanding enzyme-free chemical syntheses of biologically relevant molecules, could particularly aid in this regard. Specifically, certain peculiar characteristics of prebiotically pertinent messy chemical reactions, including diverse and racemic product yields and lower synthesis efficiencies, can be utilized in analyzing whether a perceived ‘signature of life’ could possibly have chemical origins. The knowledge gathered from understanding the transition from chemistry to biology during the origin of life could be used for creating a library of abiotically synthesized biologically relevant organic molecules. This can then be employed in designing, standardizing, and testing mission-specific instruments/analysis systems, while also enabling the effective targeting of exoplanets with potentially ‘ongoing’ molecular evolutionary processes for robust detection of life in future explorative endeavors.
Collapse
|
10
|
Matsunaga C, Kanazawa N, Takatsuka Y, Fujii T, Ohta S, Ômura H. Polyhydroxy Acids as Fabaceous Plant Components Induce Oviposition of the Common Grass Yellow Butterfly, Eurema Mandarina. J Chem Ecol 2023; 49:67-76. [PMID: 36484901 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-022-01397-9] [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: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The common grass yellow butterfly, Eurema mandarina is a Fabaceae-feeding species, the females of which readily oviposit on Albizia julibrissin and Lespedeza cuneata in mainland Japan. We previously demonstrated that the methanolic leaf extracts of these plants, and their highly polar aqueous fractions strongly elicit female oviposition. Furthermore, the three subfractions obtained by ion-exchange chromatographic separation of the aqueous fraction have been found to be less effective alone, but synergistically stimulate female oviposition when combined. This indicates that female butterflies respond to multiple compounds with different acidity. We have previously identified d-pinitol from the neutral/amphoteric subfractions and glycine betaine from the basic subfractions as oviposition stimulants of E. mandarina. The present study aimed to identify active compounds in the remaining acidic subfractions of A. julibrissin and L. cuneata leaf extracts. GC-MS analyses of trimethylsilyl-derivatized samples revealed the presence of six compounds in the acidic subfractions. In bioassays using these authentic chemicals, erythronic acid (EA) and threonic acid (TA) were moderately active in eliciting oviposition responses in E. mandarina, with their d-isomers showing slightly higher activity than their l-isomers. Female responsiveness differed between d-EA and l-TA, the major isomers of these compounds in plants, with the response to d-EA reaching a plateau at concentrations above 0.005% and that to l-TA peaking at a concentration of 0.01%. The natural concentrations of d-EA and l-TA in fresh A. julibrissin and L. cuneata leaves were sufficient to stimulate oviposition. Furthermore, mixing 0.001% d-EA or 0.001% l-TA, to which females are mostly unresponsive, with 0.1% d-pinitol resulted in a synergistic enhancement of the oviposition response. These findings demonstrate that E. mandarina females utilize both polyhydroxy acids, EA and TA, as chemical cues for oviposition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chisato Matsunaga
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 739- 8528, Higashihiroshima, Japan
| | - Naoki Kanazawa
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 739- 8528, Higashihiroshima, Japan
| | - Yuta Takatsuka
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 739- 8528, Higashihiroshima, Japan
| | - Takeshi Fujii
- Faculty of Agriculture, Setsunan University, 573-0101, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shinji Ohta
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 739- 8528, Higashihiroshima, Japan
| | - Hisashi Ômura
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 739- 8528, Higashihiroshima, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Garcia AD, Topin J, Bocková J, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Meinert C. Chiroptical activity of gas-phase propylene oxide predicting the handedness of interstellar circular polarization in the presolar nebula. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadd4614. [PMID: 36399555 PMCID: PMC9674286 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add4614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Propylene oxide, the first chiral molecule recently detected in the interstellar medium, has once again raised the question whether biomolecular chirality might have cosmic origins. However, accurate chiroptical properties of propylene oxide in the ultraviolet spectral range necessary to suggest possible asymmetric synthetic routes in the gas phase are scarce. Here, we report on the first experimental measurements of the anisotropy spectra of gas-phase propylene oxide in the vacuum ultraviolet spectral range. Our experimental results provide novel insights into the handedness of interstellar circular polarization at the dawn of molecular evolution of our star- and planet-forming region. Besides the fundamental importance of this new investigation for understanding the origin and evolution of homochirality on Earth, our high-resolution experimental electronic circular dichroism data will inspire new efforts in quantum computational spectroscopy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrien D. Garcia
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, UMR 7272 CNRS, Nice 06108, France
| | - Jérémie Topin
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, UMR 7272 CNRS, Nice 06108, France
| | - Jana Bocková
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, UMR 7272 CNRS, Nice 06108, France
| | - Nykola C. Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Søren V. Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, UMR 7272 CNRS, Nice 06108, France
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Kaiser RI, Zhao L, Lu W, Ahmed M, Evseev MM, Azyazov VN, Mebel AM, Mohamed RK, Fischer FR, Li X. Gas-phase synthesis of racemic helicenes and their potential role in the enantiomeric enrichment of sugars and amino acids in meteorites. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:25077-25087. [PMID: 36056687 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03084e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The molecular origins of homochirality on Earth is not understood well, particularly how enantiomerically enriched molecules of astrobiological significance like sugars and amino acids might have been synthesized on icy grains in space preceding their delivery to Earth. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) identified in carbonaceous chondrites could have been processed in molecular clouds by circularly polarized light prior to the depletion of enantiomerically enriched helicenes onto carbonaceous grains resulting in chiral islands. However, the fundamental low temperature reaction mechanisms leading to racemic helicenes are still unknown. Here, by exploiting synchrotron based molecular beam photoionization mass spectrometry combined with electronic structure calculations, we provide compelling testimony on barrierless, low temperature pathways leading to racemates of [5] and [6]helicene. Astrochemical modeling advocates that gas-phase reactions in molecular clouds lead to racemates of helicenes suggesting a pathway for future astronomical observation and providing a fundamental understanding for the origin of homochirality on early Earth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA.
| | - Long Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA.
| | - Wenchao Lu
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | - Musahid Ahmed
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | | | | | - Alexander M Mebel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA.
| | - Rana K Mohamed
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Kavli Energy Nano Sciences Institute at the University of California Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Felix R Fischer
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Kavli Energy Nano Sciences Institute at the University of California Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Xiaohu Li
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, P. R. China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Martínez RF, Cuccia LA, Viedma C, Cintas P. On the Origin of Sugar Handedness: Facts, Hypotheses and Missing Links-A Review. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2022; 52:21-56. [PMID: 35796896 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-022-09624-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
By paraphrasing one of Kipling's most amazing short stories (How the Leopard Got His Spots), this article could be entitled "How Sugars Became Homochiral". Obviously, we have no answer to this still unsolved mystery, and this perspective simply brings recent models, experiments and hypotheses into the homochiral homogeneity of sugars on earth. We shall revisit the past and current understanding of sugar chirality in the context of prebiotic chemistry, with attention to recent developments and insights. Different scenarios and pathways will be discussed, from the widely known formose-type processes to less familiar ones, often viewed as unorthodox chemical routes. In particular, problems associated with the spontaneous generation of enantiomeric imbalances and the transfer of chirality will be tackled. As carbohydrates are essential components of all cellular systems, astrochemical and terrestrial observations suggest that saccharides originated from environmentally available feedstocks. Such substances would have been capable of sustaining autotrophic and heterotrophic mechanisms integrating nutrients, metabolism and the genome after compartmentalization. Recent findings likewise indicate that sugars' enantiomeric bias may have emerged by a transfer of chirality mechanisms, rather than by deracemization of sugar backbones, yet providing an evolutionary advantage that fueled the cellular machinery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Fernando Martínez
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
| | - Louis A Cuccia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM/CQMF), FRQNT, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Cristóbal Viedma
- Department of Crystallography and Mineralogy, University Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Cintas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica E Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, and Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Cambio Climático Y Sostenibilidad, (IACYS), Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida de Elvas s/n, 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Arya A, Ray J, Sharma S, Cruz Simbron R, Lozano A, Smith HB, Andersen JL, Chen H, Meringer M, Cleaves HJ. An open source computational workflow for the discovery of autocatalytic networks in abiotic reactions. Chem Sci 2022; 13:4838-4853. [PMID: 35655880 PMCID: PMC9067619 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc00256f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A central question in origins of life research is how non-entailed chemical processes, which simply dissipate chemical energy because they can do so due to immediate reaction kinetics and thermodynamics, enabled the origin of highly-entailed ones, in which concatenated kinetically and thermodynamically favorable processes enhanced some processes over others. Some degree of molecular complexity likely had to be supplied by environmental processes to produce entailed self-replicating processes. The origin of entailment, therefore, must connect to fundamental chemistry that builds molecular complexity. We present here an open-source chemoinformatic workflow to model abiological chemistry to discover such entailment. This pipeline automates generation of chemical reaction networks and their analysis to discover novel compounds and autocatalytic processes. We demonstrate this pipeline's capabilities against a well-studied model system by vetting it against experimental data. This workflow can enable rapid identification of products of complex chemistries and their underlying synthetic relationships to help identify autocatalysis, and potentially self-organization, in such systems. The algorithms used in this study are open-source and reconfigurable by other user-developed workflows.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aayush Arya
- Department of Physics, Lovely Professional University Jalandhar Delhi-GT Road Phagwara Punjab 144411 India
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
| | - Jessica Ray
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
| | - Siddhant Sharma
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi New Delhi 110019 India
| | - Romulo Cruz Simbron
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
- Laboratorio de Investigación Fisicoquímica (LABINFIS), Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería Av. Túpac Amaru 210 Lima Peru
- Centro de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones (CTIC UNI), Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria Av. Túpac Amaru 210 Lima Peru
| | - Alejandro Lozano
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
- Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología - Instituto Politécnico Nacional 550 Av. Acueducto 07340 Mexico City Mexico
| | - Harrison B Smith
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology Tokyo Japan
| | - Jakob Lykke Andersen
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55 5230 Odense M Denmark
| | - Huan Chen
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Tallahassee Florida 32310 USA
| | - Markus Meringer
- German Aerospace Center (DLR) 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen Wessling Germany
| | - Henderson James Cleaves
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle Washington 98104 USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology Tokyo Japan
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Sallembien Q, Bouteiller L, Crassous J, Raynal M. Possible chemical and physical scenarios towards biological homochirality. Chem Soc Rev 2022; 51:3436-3476. [PMID: 35377372 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs01179k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The single chirality of biological molecules in terrestrial biology raises more questions than certitudes about its origin. The emergence of biological homochirality (BH) and its connection with the appearance of life have elicited a large number of theories related to the generation, amplification and preservation of a chiral bias in molecules of life under prebiotically relevant conditions. However, a global scenario is still lacking. Here, the possibility of inducing a significant chiral bias "from scratch", i.e. in the absence of pre-existing enantiomerically-enriched chemical species, will be considered first. It includes phenomena that are inherent to the nature of matter itself, such as the infinitesimal energy difference between enantiomers as a result of violation of parity in certain fundamental interactions, and physicochemical processes related to interactions between chiral organic molecules and physical fields, polarized particles, polarized spins and chiral surfaces. The spontaneous emergence of chirality in the absence of detectable chiral physical and chemical sources has recently undergone significant advances thanks to the deracemization of conglomerates through Viedma ripening and asymmetric auto-catalysis with the Soai reaction. All these phenomena are commonly discussed as plausible sources of asymmetry under prebiotic conditions and are potentially accountable for the primeval chiral bias in molecules of life. Then, several scenarios will be discussed that are aimed to reflect the different debates about the emergence of BH: extra-terrestrial or terrestrial origin (where?), nature of the mechanisms leading to the propagation and enhancement of the primeval chiral bias (how?) and temporal sequence between chemical homochirality, BH and life emergence (when?). Intense and ongoing theories regarding the emergence of optically pure molecules at different moments of the evolution process towards life, i.e. at the levels of building blocks of Life, of the instructed or functional polymers, or even later at the stage of more elaborated chemical systems, will be critically discussed. The underlying principles and the experimental evidence will be commented for each scenario with particular attention on those leading to the induction and enhancement of enantiomeric excesses in proteinogenic amino acids, natural sugars, and their intermediates or derivatives. The aim of this review is to propose an updated and timely synopsis in order to stimulate new efforts in this interdisciplinary field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Sallembien
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Laurent Bouteiller
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Jeanne Crassous
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, ISCR-UMR 6226, F-35000 Rennes, France.
| | - Matthieu Raynal
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Chirality in Organic and Mineral Systems: A Review of Reactivity and Alteration Processes Relevant to Prebiotic Chemistry and Life Detection Missions. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14030460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Chirality is a central feature in the evolution of biological systems, but the reason for biology’s strong preference for specific chiralities of amino acids, sugars, and other molecules remains a controversial and unanswered question in origins of life research. Biological polymers tend toward homochiral systems, which favor the incorporation of a single enantiomer (molecules with a specific chiral configuration) over the other. There have been numerous investigations into the processes that preferentially enrich one enantiomer to understand the evolution of an early, racemic, prebiotic organic world. Chirality can also be a property of minerals; their interaction with chiral organics is important for assessing how post-depositional alteration processes could affect the stereochemical configuration of simple and complex organic molecules. In this paper, we review the properties of organic compounds and minerals as well as the physical, chemical, and geological processes that affect organic and mineral chirality during the preservation and detection of organic compounds. We provide perspectives and discussions on the reactions and analytical techniques that can be performed in the laboratory, and comment on the state of knowledge of flight-capable technologies in current and future planetary missions, with a focus on organics analysis and life detection.
Collapse
|
17
|
Bocková J, Jones NC, Leyva V, Gaysinski M, Hoffmann SV, Meinert C. Concentration and pH effect on the electronic circular dichroism and anisotropy spectra of aqueous solutions of glyceric acid calcium salt. Chirality 2021; 34:245-252. [PMID: 34939233 DOI: 10.1002/chir.23407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and anisotropy spectra carry information on differential absorption of left- and right-circularly polarized light (LCPL and RCPL) by optically active compounds. This makes them powerful tools for the rapid determination of enantiomeric excesses (ee) in asymmetric synthetic and pharmaceutical chemistry, as well as for predicting the ee inducible by ultraviolet (UV) CPL. The ECD response of a chiral molecule is, however, critically dependent on the properties of the surrounding medium. Here, we report on the first ECD/anisotropy spectra of aqueous solutions of the calcium salt dihydrate of glyceric acid. A systematic study of the effect of the salt concentration and pH on the chiroptical response revealed significant changes and the appearance of a new ECD band of opposite sign. Based on the literature, this can be rationalized by the increase in the relative proportion of free glyceric acid/glycerate to Ca2+ complexes with glycerate with decreasing salt concentration or pH. Glyceric acid can be readily produced under astrophysical conditions. The anisotropy spectra of the solution containing prevalently the free form of this dihydroxy carboxylic acid resemble the ones of previously investigated aliphatic chain hydroxycarboxylic acids and proteinogenic amino acids. This indicates possible common handedness of stellar CPL-induced asymmetry in the potential comonomers of primitive proto-peptides.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Bocková
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Vanessa Leyva
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Marc Gaysinski
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Abstract
The origin of life, based on the homochirality of biomolecules, is a persistent mystery. Did life begin by using both forms of chirality, and then one of the forms disappeared? Or did the choice of homochirality precede the formation of biomolecules that could ensure replication and information transfer? Is the natural choice of L-amino acids and D-sugars on which life is based deterministic or random? Is the handedness present in/of the Universe from its beginning? The whole biosystem on the Earth, all living creatures are chiral. Many theories try to explain the origin of life and chirality on the Earth: e.g., the panspermia hypothesis, the primordial soup hypothesis, theory of parity violation in weak interactions. Additionally, heavy neutrinos and the impact of the fact that only left-handed particles decay, and even dark matter, all have to be considered.
Collapse
|
19
|
Mardyukov A, Keul F, Schreiner PR. 1,1,2‐Ethenetriol: The Enol of Glycolic Acid, a High‐Energy Prebiotic Molecule. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202104436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Artur Mardyukov
- Institute of Organic Chemistry Justus Liebig University Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Felix Keul
- Institute of Organic Chemistry Justus Liebig University Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Peter R. Schreiner
- Institute of Organic Chemistry Justus Liebig University Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17 35392 Giessen Germany
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bocková J, Jones NC, Meierhenrich UJ, Hoffmann SV, Meinert C. Chiroptical activity of hydroxycarboxylic acids with implications for the origin of biological homochirality. Commun Chem 2021; 4:86. [PMID: 36697718 PMCID: PMC9814692 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-021-00524-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Circularly polarised light (CPL) interacting with interstellar organic molecules might have imparted chiral bias and hence preluded prebiotic evolution of biomolecular homochirality. The L-enrichment of extra-terrestrial amino acids in meteorites, as opposed to no detectable excess in monocarboxylic acids and amines, has previously been attributed to their intrinsic interaction with stellar CPL revealed by substantial differences in their chiroptical signals. Recent analyses of meteoritic hydroxycarboxylic acids (HCAs) - potential co-building blocks of ancestral proto-peptides - indicated a chiral bias toward the L-enantiomer of lactic acid. Here we report on novel anisotropy spectra of several HCAs using a synchrotron radiation electronic circular dichroism spectrophotometer to support the re-evaluation of chiral biomarkers of extra-terrestrial origin in the context of absolute photochirogenesis. We found that irradiation by CPL which would yield L-excess in amino acids would also yield L-excess in aliphatic chain HCAs, including lactic acid and mandelic acid, in the examined conditions. Only tartaric acid would show "unnatural" D-enrichment, which makes it a suitable target compound for further assessing the relevance of the CPL scenario.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Bocková
- University Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Institute de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272, Nice, France.
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Uwe J Meierhenrich
- University Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Institute de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272, Nice, France
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- University Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Institute de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272, Nice, France.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Mardyukov A, Keul F, Schreiner PR. 1,1,2-Ethenetriol: The Enol of Glycolic Acid, a High-Energy Prebiotic Molecule. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:15313-15316. [PMID: 33950559 PMCID: PMC8362078 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202104436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
As low‐temperature conditions (e.g. in space) prohibit reactions requiring large activation energies, an alternative mechanism for follow‐up transformations of highly stable molecules involves the reactions of higher energy isomers that were generated in a different environment. Hence, one working model for the formation of larger organic molecules is their generation from high‐lying isomers of otherwise rather stable molecules. As an example, we present here the synthesis as well as IR and UV/Vis spectroscopic identification of the previously elusive 1,1,2‐ethenetriol, the higher energy enol tautomer of glycolic acid, a rather stable and hence unreactive biological building block. The title compound was generated in the gas phase by flash vacuum pyrolysis of tartronic acid at 400 °C and was subsequently trapped in argon matrices at 10 K. The spectral assignments are supported by B3LYP/6–311++G(2d,2p) computations. Upon photolysis at λ=180–254 nm, 1,1,2‐ethenetriol rearranges to glycolic acid and ketene.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Artur Mardyukov
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Felix Keul
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Peter R Schreiner
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Smith HH, Hyde AS, Simkus DN, Libby E, Maurer SE, Graham HV, Kempes CP, Sherwood Lollar B, Chou L, Ellington AD, Fricke GM, Girguis PR, Grefenstette NM, Pozarycki CI, House CH, Johnson SS. The Grayness of the Origin of Life. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:498. [PMID: 34072344 PMCID: PMC8226951 DOI: 10.3390/life11060498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
In the search for life beyond Earth, distinguishing the living from the non-living is paramount. However, this distinction is often elusive, as the origin of life is likely a stepwise evolutionary process, not a singular event. Regardless of the favored origin of life model, an inherent "grayness" blurs the theorized threshold defining life. Here, we explore the ambiguities between the biotic and the abiotic at the origin of life. The role of grayness extends into later transitions as well. By recognizing the limitations posed by grayness, life detection researchers will be better able to develop methods sensitive to prebiotic chemical systems and life with alternative biochemistries.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hillary H. Smith
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
- Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Andrew S. Hyde
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
- Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Danielle N. Simkus
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; (D.N.S.); (H.V.G.); (L.C.); (C.I.P.)
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, USRA, Columbia, MD 20146, USA
- Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
| | - Eric Libby
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA; (E.L.); (C.P.K.); (N.M.G.)
- Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
- Icelab, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sarah E. Maurer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT 06050, USA;
| | - Heather V. Graham
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; (D.N.S.); (H.V.G.); (L.C.); (C.I.P.)
- Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA
| | | | | | - Luoth Chou
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; (D.N.S.); (H.V.G.); (L.C.); (C.I.P.)
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, USRA, Columbia, MD 20146, USA
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Andrew D. Ellington
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA;
- Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - G. Matthew Fricke
- Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA;
| | - Peter R. Girguis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA;
| | - Natalie M. Grefenstette
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA; (E.L.); (C.P.K.); (N.M.G.)
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
| | - Chad I. Pozarycki
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; (D.N.S.); (H.V.G.); (L.C.); (C.I.P.)
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Christopher H. House
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
- Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Sarah Stewart Johnson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Science, Technology and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Chu XY, Zhang HY. Protein Homochirality May Be Derived from Primitive Peptide Synthesis by RNA. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:628-635. [PMID: 33600215 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Homochirality is a feature of life, but its origin is still disputed. Recent theories indicate that the origin of homochirality coincided with that of the RNA world, but proteins have not yet been incorporated into the story. Ribosome is considered a living fossil that survived the RNA world and records the oldest interaction between RNA and proteins. Inspired by several ribosome-related findings, we propose a hypothesis as follows: the substrate chirality preference of some primitive peptide synthesis ribozymes can mediate the chirality transmission from RNA to protein. In return, the chiral preference of protective peptide-RNA interaction can bring these ribozymes an evolutionary advantage and facilitate the expansion of enantiomeric excess in peptides. Monte Carlo simulation results show that this system's chemistry model is plausible. This model can be further tested through investigation of the chirality preference for the interactions between d/l-ribose-composed rRNA homologs and l/d-amino acid-composed peptides.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Yi Chu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Hong-Yu Zhang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Furukawa Y, Iwasa Y, Chikaraishi Y. Synthesis of 13C-enriched amino acids with 13C-depleted insoluble organic matter in a formose-type reaction in the early solar system. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/18/eabd3575. [PMID: 33910902 PMCID: PMC8081361 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd3575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Solvent-soluble organic matter (SOM) in meteorites, which includes life's building molecules, is suspected to originate from the cold region of the early solar system, on the basis of 13C enrichment in the molecules. Here, we demonstrate that the isotopic characteristics are reproducible in amino acid synthesis associated with a formose-type reaction in a heated aqueous solution. Both thermochemically driven formose-type reaction and photochemically driven formose-type reaction likely occurred in asteroids and ice-dust grains in the early solar system. Thus, the present results suggest that the formation of 13C-enriched SOM was not specific to the cold outer protosolar disk or the molecular cloud but occurred more widely in the early solar system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Yoshinari Iwasa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Institute of Low-temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-19, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15, Natsushimacho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Murashima H, Fujihara A. Quantification of monosaccharide enantiomers using optical properties of hydrogen-bonded tryptophan. Anal Biochem 2021; 619:114151. [PMID: 33684343 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2021.114151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Chiral recognition between amino acids and monosaccharides in the gas phase was investigated as a model for chemical evolution in interstellar molecular clouds. Ultraviolet (UV) photodissociation spectra and product ion spectra of cold gas-phase hydrogen-bonded clusters of protonated tryptophan (Trp) and a pentose, including ribose and arabinose, were obtained using a tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source and a temperature-controlled ion trap. The relative intensity of the signal arising from the S1-S0 transition of protonated Trp observed at approximately 285 nm in the UV photodissociation spectrum of homochiral H+(d-Trp)(d-ribose) was significantly higher than that of heterochiral H+(l-Trp)(d-ribose), corresponding to the ππ* state of the Trp indole ring. Optical properties of Trp in the clusters induced by 285-nm photoexcitation were applied to the identification and quantification of pentose enantiomers in solution. Pentose enantiomeric excess in solution was determined from relative abundances observed in a single product ion spectrum of 285-nm photoexcited hydrogen-bonded clusters of H+(l-Trp) and pentose. A mixture of two pentoses could also be quantified by this method. The geometric and electronic structures of Trp enable recognition of biological molecules through hydrogen bonding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hiromori Murashima
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan
| | - Akimasa Fujihara
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Murashima H, Fujihara A. Molecular Adsorption on Cold Gas-Phase Hydrogen-Bonded Clusters of Chiral Molecules. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2021; 51:61-70. [PMID: 33587241 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-021-09605-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Gas-phase molecular adsorption was investigated as a model for molecular cloud formation. Molecular adsorption on cold gas-phase hydrogen-bonded clusters containing protonated tryptophan (Trp) enantiomers and monosaccharides such as methyl-α-D-glucoside, D-ribose, and D-arabinose was detected using a tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source and cold ion trap. The adsorption sites on the surface of cold gas-phase hydrogen-bonded cluster ions were quantified using gas-phase N2 adsorption-mass spectrometry. The gas-phase N2 adsorption experiments indicated that the number of adsorption sites on the surface of the hydrogen-bonded heterochiral clusters containing L-Trp and D-monosaccharides exceeded the number of adsorption sites on the homochiral clusters containing D-Trp and D-monosaccharides. H2O molecules were preferentially adsorbed on the heterochiral clusters, and larger water clusters were formed in the gas phase. Physical and chemical properties of cold gas-phase hydrogen-bonded clusters containing biological molecules were useful for investigating enantiomer selectivity and chemical evolution in interstellar molecular clouds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hiromori Murashima
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan
| | - Akimasa Fujihara
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Domínguez-Andrés J, Eleveld M, Renieris G, Boltje TJ, Mesman RJ, van Niftrik L, Moons SJ, Rettberg P, van der Meer JWM, Giamarellos-Bourboulis EJ, Op den Camp HJM, de Jonge MI, Netea MG. Growth on Carbohydrates from Carbonaceous Meteorites Alters the Immunogenicity of Environment-Derived Bacterial Pathogens. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1353-1362. [PMID: 32391711 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in space exploration. Public and private institutions are investing considerable effort toward the direct exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as more distant bodies in the solar system. Both automated and human-crewed spacecraft are being considered in these efforts. As inevitable fellow travelers on the bodies of astronauts, spaceships, or equipment, terrestrial microorganisms will undoubtedly come into contact with extraterrestrial environments, despite stringent decontamination. These microorganisms could eventually adapt and grow in their new habitats, where they might potentially recolonize and lead to the infection of the human space travelers. In this article, we demonstrate that clinically relevant bacterial species found in the environment are able to grow in minimal media with sugar compounds identified in extraterrestrial carbon sources. As a surrogate model, we used carbohydrates previously isolated from carbonaceous meteorites. The bacteria underwent an adaptation process that caused structural modifications in the cell envelope that sparked changes in pathogenic potential, both in vitro and in vivo. Understanding the adaptation of microorganisms exposed to extraterrestrial environments, with subsequent changes in their immunogenicity and virulence, requires a comprehensive analysis of such scenarios to ensure the safety of major space expeditions in the decades to come.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Domínguez-Andrés
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marc Eleveld
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Section Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Georgios Renieris
- 4th Department of Internal Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece
| | - Thomas J Boltje
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Rob J Mesman
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura van Niftrik
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Sam J Moons
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Petra Rettberg
- Research Group Astrobiology, Radiation Biology Department, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Köln, Germany
| | - Jos W M van der Meer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Huub J M Op den Camp
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marien I de Jonge
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Section Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Mihai G Netea
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department for Genomics & Immunoregulation, Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Murashima H, Fujihara A. Wavelength dependence of chiral recognition using ions between photoexcited tryptophan and sugars. Chem Phys 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2020.110818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
|
31
|
Magnetic circular dichroism in Archean atmosphere and asymmetric photolysis of biomolecules: enantiomeric excess of prebiotic sugar. J Biol Phys 2020; 46:283-295. [PMID: 32617795 DOI: 10.1007/s10867-020-09552-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In the terrestrial dipolar magnetic field, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) of UV sunlight by paramagnetic O2 in an Archean atmosphere (mostly CO2 and N2) results in circular polarization anisotropy (~ 10-10). This is used to calculate enantiomeric excess (EE~10-13) of glyceraldehyde (3-carbon sugar) with a model that includes racemic production and asymmetric photolysis of its enantiomers. The sign and magnitude of enantiomeric excess (EE) vary with the Earth's latitude. Unlike random noise fluctuation in spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SMSB) models, the sign of EE is deterministic and constant over large areas of prebiotic Earth. The magnitude is several orders greater than the mean amplitude of stochastically fluctuating EE. MCD could provide the initial EE for growth of homochirality by asymmetric autocatalysis.
Collapse
|
32
|
Molecular shape as a key source of prebiotic information. J Theor Biol 2020; 499:110316. [PMID: 32387366 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
One of the most striking features of a living system is the self-sustaining functional inner organization, which is only possible when a source of internal references is available from which the system is able to self-organize components and processes. Internal references are intrinsically related to biological information, which is typically understood as genetic information. However, the organization in living systems supports a diversity of intricate processes that enable life to endure, adapt and reproduce because of this organization. In a biological context, information refers to a complex relationship between internal architecture and system functionality. Nongenetic processes, such as conformational recognition, are not considered biological information, although they exert important control over cell processes. In this contribution, we discuss the informational nature in the recognition of molecular shape in living systems. Thus, we highlight supramolecular matching as having a theoretical key role in the origin of life. Based on recent data, we demonstrate that the transfer of molecular conformation is a very likely dynamic of prebiotic information, which is closely related to the origin of biological homochirality and biogenic systems. In light of the current hypothesis, we also revisit the central dogma of molecular biology to assess the consistency of the proposal presented here. We conclude that both spatial (molecular shape) and sequential (genetic) information must be represented in this biological paradigm.
Collapse
|
33
|
Sandford SA, Nuevo M, Bera PP, Lee TJ. Prebiotic Astrochemistry and the Formation of Molecules of Astrobiological Interest in Interstellar Clouds and Protostellar Disks. Chem Rev 2020; 120:4616-4659. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott A. Sandford
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
| | - Michel Nuevo
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
- BAER Institute, NASA Research Park, MS 18-4, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
| | - Partha P. Bera
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
- BAER Institute, NASA Research Park, MS 18-4, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
| | - Timothy J. Lee
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Furukawa Y, Chikaraishi Y, Ohkouchi N, Ogawa NO, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP, Abe C, Nakamura T. Extraterrestrial ribose and other sugars in primitive meteorites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:24440-24445. [PMID: 31740594 PMCID: PMC6900709 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907169116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Sugars are essential molecules for all terrestrial biota working in many biological processes. Ribose is particularly essential as a building block of RNA, which could have both stored information and catalyzed reactions in primitive life on Earth. Meteorites contain a number of organic compounds including key building blocks of life, i.e., amino acids, nucleobases, and phosphate. An amino acid has also been identified in a cometary sample. However, the presence of extraterrestrial bioimportant sugars remains unclear. We analyzed sugars in 3 carbonaceous chondrites and show evidence of extraterrestrial ribose and other bioessential sugars in primitive meteorites. The 13C-enriched stable carbon isotope compositions (δ13C vs.VPDB) of the detected sugars show that the sugars are of extraterrestrial origin. We also conducted a laboratory simulation experiment of a potential sugar formation reaction in space. The compositions of pentoses in meteorites and the composition of the products of the laboratory simulation suggest that meteoritic sugars were formed by formose-like processes. The mineral compositions of these meteorites further suggest the formation of these sugars both before and after the accretion of their parent asteroids. Meteorites were carriers of prebiotic organic molecules to the early Earth; thus, the detection of extraterrestrial sugars in meteorites establishes the existence of natural geological routes to make and preserve them as well as raising the possibility that extraterrestrial sugars contributed to forming functional biopolymers like RNA on the early Earth or other primitive worlds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, 060-0819 Sapporo, Japan
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Nanako O Ogawa
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
| | - Chiaki Abe
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
| | - Tomoki Nakamura
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
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
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
The baseline resolution of Aldo-monosaccharide enantiomers: Simplified GC-MS analyses using acetal-trifluoroacetyl derivatives for complex samples. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2019; 1126-1127:121761. [PMID: 31450088 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2019.121761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A variety of scientific and technical fields rely on the analysis of monosaccharides (sugars). However, the multiple isomer forms of individual monosaccharides have long hampered their analyses in complex samples: significant chromatographic co-elution often leads to the loss of information on individual compounds. In addition, the chromatographic enantiomer resolution of monosaccharides has of course received less attention than molecular resolution. This would be expected in the case of rare monosaccharides, but enantiomer resolution of erythrose and threose have also received relatively little attention in the literature. Methods that are capable of the simultaneous molecular and enantiomer resolution/identification of suites of monosaccharides in single complicated mixtures are desirable. Here we report the results of attempts to resolve mixtures of the enantiomers of all three‑carbon (3C) to six‑carbon (6C) aldehyde (aldose) monosaccharides as acetal-trifluoroacetyl (acetal-TFA) derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS); glyceraldehyde (3C) is included as its TFA-only derivative. After a relatively simple derivatization procedure, the analyzed acetals are in the ethyl-, 2-propyl- and 2-butyl-TFA forms. Using chiral (cyclodextrin) and non-chiral (DB-17) GC columns we show that these enantiomer pairs can be baseline resolved - depending on the derivative/GC column combination - and that any single acetal/TFA combination can resolve the majority of enantiomers in a single run. Importantly, ribose and lyxose form only one significant (in abundance) stereoisomer with all derivative combinations while other monosaccharides form a maximum of only two significant stereoisomers: this greatly reduces obfuscation due to crowding on a given chromatogram. We conclude that GC-MS of acetal-TFA derivatives is the best (overall) analytical technique, to date, for the analysis of aldose-monosaccharide enantiomer ratios and reduces chromatogram clutter by favorably restricting the proliferation of monosaccharide isomers.
Collapse
|
37
|
Cruz-Rosas HI, Riquelme F, Santiago P, Rendón L, Buhse T, Ortega-Gutiérrez F, Borja-Urby R, Mendoza D, Gaona C, Miramontes P, Cocho G. Multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes from the Allende chondrite: A probable source of asymmetry. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218750. [PMID: 31260466 PMCID: PMC6602194 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study presents multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes found in samples from the Allende carbonaceous chondrite using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). A highly disordered lattice observed in this material suggests the presence of chiral domains in it. Our results also show amorphous and poorly-graphitized carbon, nanodiamonds, and onion-like fullerenes. The presence of multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes have important implications for hypotheses that explain how a probable source of asymmetry in carbonaceous chondrites might have contributed to the enantiomeric excess in soluble organics under extraterrestrial scenarios. This is the first study proving the existence of carbon nanotubes in carbonaceous chondrites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo I. Cruz-Rosas
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Francisco Riquelme
- Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular, Escuela de Estudios Superiores del Jicarero, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Jicarero, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Patricia Santiago
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Luis Rendón
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Thomas Buhse
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Raúl Borja-Urby
- Centro de Nanociencias y Micro y Nanotecnologías, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Doroteo Mendoza
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Carlos Gaona
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Pedro Miramontes
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Germinal Cocho
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Sutton MA, Burton AS, Zaikova E, Sutton RE, Brinckerhoff WB, Bevilacqua JG, Weng MM, Mumma MJ, Johnson SS. Radiation Tolerance of Nanopore Sequencing Technology for Life Detection on Mars and Europa. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5370. [PMID: 30926841 PMCID: PMC6441015 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41488-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The search for life beyond Earth is a key motivator in space exploration. Informational polymers, like DNA and RNA, are key biosignatures for life as we know it. The MinION is a miniature DNA sequencer based on versatile nanopore technology that could be implemented on future planetary missions. A critical unanswered question is whether the MinION and its protein-based nanopores can withstand increased radiation exposure outside Earth's shielding magnetic field. We evaluated the effects of ionizing radiation on the MinION platform - including flow cells, reagents, and hardware - and discovered limited performance loss when exposed to ionizing doses comparable to a mission to Mars. Targets with harsher radiation environments, like Europa, would require improved radiation resistance via additional shielding or design refinements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Sutton
- Solar System Exploration Division and Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Aaron S Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 77058, USA
| | - Elena Zaikova
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | | | - William B Brinckerhoff
- Solar System Exploration Division and Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Julie G Bevilacqua
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Margaret M Weng
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Michael J Mumma
- Solar System Exploration Division and Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Sarah Stewart Johnson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
- Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Garcia AD, Meinert C, Sugahara H, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Meierhenrich UJ. The Astrophysical Formation of Asymmetric Molecules and the Emergence of a Chiral Bias. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:E29. [PMID: 30884807 PMCID: PMC6463258 DOI: 10.3390/life9010029] [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: 02/22/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The biomolecular homochirality in living organisms has been investigated for decades, but its origin remains poorly understood. It has been shown that circular polarized light (CPL) and other energy sources are capable of inducing small enantiomeric excesses (ees) in some primary biomolecules, such as amino acids or sugars. Since the first findings of amino acids in carbonaceous meteorites, a scenario in which essential chiral biomolecules originate in space and are delivered by celestial bodies has arisen. Numerous studies have thus focused on their detection, identification, and enantiomeric excess calculations in extraterrestrial matrices. In this review we summarize the discoveries in amino acids, sugars, and organophosphorus compounds in meteorites, comets, and laboratory-simulated interstellar ices. Based on available analytical data, we also discuss their interactions with CPL in the ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) regions, their abiotic chiral or achiral synthesis, and their enantiomeric distribution. Without doubt, further laboratory investigations and upcoming space missions are required to shed more light on our potential extraterrestrial molecular origins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrien D Garcia
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| | - Haruna Sugahara
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency⁻Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan.
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Uwe J Meierhenrich
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
|
41
|
Nuevo M, Cooper G, Sandford SA. Deoxyribose and deoxysugar derivatives from photoprocessed astrophysical ice analogues and comparison to meteorites. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5276. [PMID: 30563961 PMCID: PMC6299135 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07693-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Sugars and their derivatives are essential to all terrestrial life. Their presence in meteorites, together with amino acids, nucleobases, amphiphiles, and other compounds of biological importance, may have contributed to the inventory of organics that played a role in the emergence of life on Earth. Sugars, including ribose (the sugar of RNA), and other sugar derivatives have been identified in laboratory experiments simulating photoprocessing of ices under astrophysical conditions. In this work, we report the detection of 2-deoxyribose (the sugar of DNA) and several deoxysugar derivatives in residues produced from the ultraviolet irradiation of ice mixtures consisting of H2O and CH3OH. The detection of deoxysugar derivatives adds to the inventory of compounds of biological interest that can form under astrophysical conditions and puts constraints on their abiotic formation pathway. Finally, we report that some of the deoxysugar derivatives found in our residues are also newly identified in carbonaceous meteorites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michel Nuevo
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA.
- BAER Institute, NASA Research Park, MS 18-4, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA.
| | - George Cooper
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 239-4, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA
| | - Scott A Sandford
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
The Paleomineralogy of the Hadean Eon Revisited. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8040064. [PMID: 30562935 PMCID: PMC6315770 DOI: 10.3390/life8040064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A preliminary list of plausible near-surface minerals present during Earth’s Hadean Eon (>4.0 Ga) should be expanded to include: (1) phases that might have formed by precipitation of organic crystals prior to the rise of predation by cellular life; (2) minerals associated with large bolide impacts, especially through the generation of hydrothermal systems in circumferential fracture zones; and (3) local formation of minerals with relatively oxidized transition metals through abiological redox processes, such as photo-oxidation. Additional mineral diversity arises from the occurrence of some mineral species that form more than one ‘natural kind’, each with distinct chemical and morphological characteristics that arise by different paragenetic processes. Rare minerals, for example those containing essential B, Mo, or P, are not necessary for the origins of life. Rather, many common minerals incorporate those and other elements as trace and minor constituents. A rich variety of chemically reactive sites were thus available at the exposed surfaces of common Hadean rock-forming minerals.
Collapse
|
43
|
Nguyen DT, Fujihara A. Chiral Recognition in Cold Gas-Phase Cluster Ions of Carbohydrates and Tryptophan Probed by Photodissociation. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2018; 48:395-406. [PMID: 30953250 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-019-09574-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Chiral recognition between tryptophan (Trp) and carbohydrates such as D-glucose (D-Glc), methyl-α-D-glucoside (D-glucoside), D-maltose, and D-cellobiose in cold gas-phase cluster ions was investigated as a model for chemical evolution in interstellar molecular clouds using a tandem mass spectrometer containing a cold ion trap. The photodissociation mass spectra of cold gas-phase clusters that contained Na+, Trp enantiomers, and D-maltose showed that Na+(D-Glc) was formed via the glycosidic bond cleavage of D-maltose from photoexcited homochiral Na+(D-Trp)(D-maltose), while the dissociation did not occur in heterochiral Na+(L-Trp)(D-maltose). The enantiomer-selective dissociation was also observed in the case of D-cellobiose. The enantiomer-selective glycosidic bond cleavage of disaccharides suggested that photoexcited D-Trp could prevent chemical evolution of sugar chains from D-enantiomer of carbohydrates in molecular clouds. The spectra of gas-phase clusters that contained Na+, Trp enantiomers, and D-Glc indicated that enantiomer-selective protonation of L-Trp from D-Glc could induce enantiomeric excess via collision-activated dissociation of the protonated L-Trp. In the case of protonated clusters, photoexcited H+(L-Trp) dissociated via Cα-Cβ bond cleavage in the presence of D-Glc or D-glucoside, where the excited states of H+(L-Trp) contributed to the enantiomer-selective reaction in the clusters. These enantiomer selectivities in cold gas-phase clusters indicated that chirality of a molecule induced enantiomeric excess of other molecules via enantiomer-selective reactions in molecular clouds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Doan Thuc Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan
| | - Akimasa Fujihara
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
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.
Collapse
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.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Data-Driven Astrochemistry: One Step Further within the Origin of Life Puzzle. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8020018. [PMID: 29857564 PMCID: PMC6027145 DOI: 10.3390/life8020018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Astrochemistry, meteoritics and chemical analytics represent a manifold scientific field, including various disciplines. In this review, clarifications on astrochemistry, comet chemistry, laboratory astrophysics and meteoritic research with respect to organic and metalorganic chemistry will be given. The seemingly large number of observed astrochemical molecules necessarily requires explanations on molecular complexity and chemical evolution, which will be discussed. Special emphasis should be placed on data-driven analytical methods including ultrahigh-resolving instruments and their interplay with quantum chemical computations. These methods enable remarkable insights into the complex chemical spaces that exist in meteorites and maximize the level of information on the huge astrochemical molecular diversity. In addition, they allow one to study even yet undescribed chemistry as the one involving organomagnesium compounds in meteorites. Both targeted and non-targeted analytical strategies will be explained and may touch upon epistemological problems. In addition, implications of (metal)organic matter toward prebiotic chemistry leading to the emergence of life will be discussed. The precise description of astrochemical organic and metalorganic matter as seeds for life and their interactions within various astrophysical environments may appear essential to further study questions regarding the emergence of life on a most fundamental level that is within the molecular world and its self-organization properties.
Collapse
|
46
|
Schwieterman EW, Kiang NY, Parenteau MN, Harman CE, DasSarma S, Fisher TM, Arney GN, Hartnett HE, Reinhard CT, Olson SL, Meadows VS, Cockell CS, Walker SI, Grenfell JL, Hegde S, Rugheimer S, Hu R, Lyons TW. Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Review of Remotely Detectable Signs of Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:663-708. [PMID: 29727196 PMCID: PMC6016574 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/10/2017] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In the coming years and decades, advanced space- and ground-based observatories will allow an unprecedented opportunity to probe the atmospheres and surfaces of potentially habitable exoplanets for signatures of life. Life on Earth, through its gaseous products and reflectance and scattering properties, has left its fingerprint on the spectrum of our planet. Aided by the universality of the laws of physics and chemistry, we turn to Earth's biosphere, both in the present and through geologic time, for analog signatures that will aid in the search for life elsewhere. Considering the insights gained from modern and ancient Earth, and the broader array of hypothetical exoplanet possibilities, we have compiled a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of potential exoplanet biosignatures, including gaseous, surface, and temporal biosignatures. We additionally survey biogenic spectral features that are well known in the specialist literature but have not yet been robustly vetted in the context of exoplanet biosignatures. We briefly review advances in assessing biosignature plausibility, including novel methods for determining chemical disequilibrium from remotely obtainable data and assessment tools for determining the minimum biomass required to maintain short-lived biogenic gases as atmospheric signatures. We focus particularly on advances made since the seminal review by Des Marais et al. The purpose of this work is not to propose new biosignature strategies, a goal left to companion articles in this series, but to review the current literature, draw meaningful connections between seemingly disparate areas, and clear the way for a path forward. Key Words: Exoplanets-Biosignatures-Habitability markers-Photosynthesis-Planetary surfaces-Atmospheres-Spectroscopy-Cryptic biospheres-False positives. Astrobiology 18, 663-708.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Edward W. Schwieterman
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, Maryland
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Alternative Earths Team, Riverside, California
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington
| | - Nancy Y. Kiang
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York
| | - Mary N. Parenteau
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- NASA Ames Research Center, Exobiology Branch, Mountain View, California
| | - Chester E. Harman
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Shiladitya DasSarma
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University System of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Theresa M. Fisher
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Giada N. Arney
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
| | - Hilairy E. Hartnett
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Christopher T. Reinhard
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Alternative Earths Team, Riverside, California
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Stephanie L. Olson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Alternative Earths Team, Riverside, California
| | - Victoria S. Meadows
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Seattle, Washington
- Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Charles S. Cockell
- University of Edinburgh School of Physics and Astronomy, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Sara I. Walker
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- ASU-Santa Fe Institute Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - John Lee Grenfell
- Institut für Planetenforschung (PF), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin, Germany
| | - Siddharth Hegde
- Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Sarah Rugheimer
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Renyu Hu
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
| | - Timothy W. Lyons
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, Alternative Earths Team, Riverside, California
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Sugahara H, Meinert C, Nahon L, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Hamase K, Takano Y, Meierhenrich UJ. d-Amino acids in molecular evolution in space - Absolute asymmetric photolysis and synthesis of amino acids by circularly polarized light. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2018; 1866:743-758. [PMID: 29357311 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms on the Earth almost exclusively use l-amino acids for the molecular architecture of proteins. The biological occurrence of d-amino acids is rare, although their functions in various organisms are being gradually understood. A possible explanation for the origin of biomolecular homochirality is the delivery of enantioenriched molecules via extraterrestrial bodies, such as asteroids and comets on early Earth. For the asymmetric formation of amino acids and their precursor molecules in interstellar environments, the interaction with circularly polarized photons is considered to have played a potential role in causing chiral asymmetry. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the investigation of chirality transfer from chiral photons to amino acids involving the two major processes of asymmetric photolysis and asymmetric synthesis. We will discuss analytical data on cometary and meteoritic amino acids and their potential impact delivery to the early Earth. The ongoing and future ambitious space missions, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, ExoMars 2020, and MMX, are scheduled to provide new insights into the chirality of extraterrestrial organic molecules and their potential relation to the terrestrial homochirality. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: d-Amino acids: biology in the mirror, edited by Dr. Loredano Pollegioni, Dr. Jean-Pierre Mothet and Dr. Molla Gianluca.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Sugahara
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Laurent Nahon
- L'Orme des Merisiers, Synchrotron SOLEIL, BP 48 Saint Aubin, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Kenji Hamase
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Takano
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan
| | - Uwe J Meierhenrich
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Racemization of Valine by Impact-Induced Heating. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2017; 48:131-139. [PMID: 28484901 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-017-9539-0] [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: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Homochirality plays an important role in all living organisms but its origin remains unclear. It also remains unclear whether such chiral molecules survived terrestrial heavy impact events. Impacts of extraterrestrial objects on early oceans were frequent and could have affected the chirality of oceanic amino acids when such amino acids accumulated during impacts. This study investigated the effects of shock-induced heating on enantiomeric change of valine with minerals such as olivine ([Mg0.9, Fe0.1]2SiO4), hematite (Fe2O3), and calcite (CaCO3). With a shock wave generated by an impact at ~0.8 km/s, both D- and L-enriched valine were significantly decomposed and partially racemized under all experimental conditions. Different minerals had different shock impedances; therefore, they provided different P-T conditions for identical impacts. Furthermore, the high pH of calcite promoted the racemization of valine. The results indicate that in natural hypervelocity impacts, amino acids in shocked oceanic water would have decomposed completely, since impact velocity and the duration of shock compression and heating are typically greater in hypervelocity impact events than those in experiments. Even with the shock wave by the impact of small and decelerated projectiles in which amino acids survive, the shock heating may generate sufficient heat for significant racemization in shocked oceanic water. However, the duration of shock induced heating by small projectiles is limited and the population of such decelerated projectiles would be limited. Therefore, even though impacts of asteroids and meteorites were frequent on the prebiotic Earth, impact events would not have significantly changed the ee of proteinogenic amino acids accumulated in the entire ocean.
Collapse
|
50
|
Wagner A, Zubarev DY, Aspuru-Guzik A, Blackmond DG. Chiral Sugars Drive Enantioenrichment in Prebiotic Amino Acid Synthesis. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2017; 3:322-328. [PMID: 28470050 PMCID: PMC5408343 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.7b00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Chiral pentose sugars mediate the enantioselective synthesis of amino acid precursors, with the magnitude of the chiral induction dictated by a subtle cooperativity between sugar hydroxyl groups. Ribose and lyxose give opposite chiral preferences, and theoretical calculations reveal the pseudoenantiomeric nature of transition state structures from the two sugars. Prebiotically plausible mixtures of natural d-sugars lead to enantioenrichment of natural l-amino acid precursors. Temporal monitoring and kinetic modeling of the reaction reveal an unusual dynamic kinetic resolution that shifts toward an enantioselective pathway over time, providing an amplification mechanism for the transfer of chiral information. This work adds to growing evidence for synergy in the etiology of the single chirality of the two most important classes of biological molecules, the sugars that make up DNA and RNA and the amino acids that form proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander
J. Wagner
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Dmitry Yu. Zubarev
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Alán Aspuru-Guzik
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Donna G. Blackmond
- Department
of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| |
Collapse
|