1
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Bhattacharya A, Tanwar L, Fracassi A, Brea RJ, Salvador-Castell M, Khanal S, Sinha SK, Devaraj NK. Chemoselective Esterification of Natural and Prebiotic 1,2-Amino Alcohol Amphiphiles in Water. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:27149-27159. [PMID: 38039527 PMCID: PMC10722506 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
In cells, a vast number of membrane lipids are formed by the enzymatic O-acylation of polar head groups with acylating agents such as fatty acyl-CoAs. Although such ester-containing lipids appear to be a requirement for life on earth, it is unclear if similar types of lipids could have spontaneously formed in the absence of enzymatic machinery at the origin of life. There are few examples of enzyme-free esterification of amphiphiles in water and none that can occur in water at physiological pH using biochemically relevant acylating agents. Here we report the unexpected chemoselective O-acylation of 1,2-amino alcohol amphiphiles in water directed by Cu(II) and several other transition metal ions. In buffers containing Cu(II) ions, mixing biological 1,2-amino alcohol amphiphiles such as sphingosylphosphorylcholine with biochemically relevant acylating agents, namely, acyl adenylates and acyl-CoAs, leads to the formation of the O-acylation product with high selectivity. The resulting O-acylated sphingolipids self-assemble into vesicles with markedly different biophysical properties than those formed from their N-acyl counterparts. We also demonstrate that Cu(II) can direct the O-acylation of alternative 1,2-amino alcohols, including prebiotically relevant 1,2-amino alcohol amphiphiles, suggesting that simple mechanisms for aqueous esterification may have been prevalent on earth before the evolution of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahanjit Bhattacharya
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Lalita Tanwar
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Alessandro Fracassi
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Roberto J. Brea
- Biomimetic
Membrane Chemistry (BioMemChem) Group, Centro de Investigacións
Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Universidade
da Coruña, Rúa As Carballeiras, 15701, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Marta Salvador-Castell
- Department
of Physics, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Satyam Khanal
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Sunil K. Sinha
- Department
of Physics, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Neal K. Devaraj
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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2
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Hazra B, Prasad M, Das S, Mandal R, Sardar A, Dewangan N, Tarafdar PK. Phosphate-Based Amphiphile and Lipidated Lysine Assemble into Superior Protocellular Membranes over Carboxylate and Sulfate-Based Systems: A Potential Missing Link between Prebiotic and the Modern Era? LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:17031-17042. [PMID: 37984966 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Amphiphiles are among the most extensively studied building blocks that self-assemble into cell-like compartments. Most literature suggested that the building blocks/amphiphiles of early Earth (fatty acid-based membrane) were much simpler than today's phospholipids. To establish the bridge between the prebiotic fatty acid era and the modern phospholipid era, the investigation and characterization of alternate building blocks that form protocellular membranes are necessary. Herein, we report the potential prebiotic synthesis of alkyl phosphate, alkyl carboxylate, and alkyl sulfate amphiphiles (anionic) using dry-down reactions and demonstrate a more general role of cationic amino acid-based amphiphiles to recruit the anionic amphiphiles via ion-pair, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. The formation and self-assembly of the catanionic (mixed) amphiphilic system to vesicular morphology were characterized by turbidimetric, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, and glucose encapsulation experiments. Further experiments suggest that the phosphate-based vesicles were more stable than the alkyl sulfate and alkyl carboxylate-based systems. Moreover, the alkyl phosphate system can form vesicles at prebiotically relevant acidic pH (5.0), while alkyl carboxylate mainly forms cluster-type aggregates. An extended supramolecular polymer-type network formation via H-bonding and ion-pair interactions might order the membrane interface and stabilize the phosphate-based vesicles. The results suggest that phosphate-based amphiphiles might be a superior successor to fatty acids as early compartment building blocks. The work highlights the importance of previously unexplored building blocks that participate in protocellular membrane formation to encapsulate important precursors required for the functions of early life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibhas Hazra
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Mahesh Prasad
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Subrata Das
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Raki Mandal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Avijit Sardar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Nikesh Dewangan
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
| | - Pradip K Tarafdar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Nadia, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
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3
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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.
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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
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4
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Aleksandrova M, Rahmatova F, Russell DA, Bonfio C. Ring Opening of Glycerol Cyclic Phosphates Leads to a Diverse Array of Potentially Prebiotic Phospholipids. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:25614-25620. [PMID: 37971368 PMCID: PMC10690765 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c07319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Phospholipids are the primary constituents of cell membranes across all domains of life, but how and when phospholipids appeared on early Earth remains unknown. Pressingly, most prebiotic syntheses of complex phospholipids rely upon substrates not yet shown to have been available on early Earth. Here, we describe potentially prebiotic syntheses of a diverse array of complex phospholipids and their building blocks. First, we show that choline could have been produced on early Earth by stepwise N-methylation of ethanolamine. Second, taking a systems chemistry approach, we demonstrate that the intrinsically activated glycerol-2,3-cyclic phosphate undergoes ring opening with combinations of prebiotic amino alcohols to yield complex phospholipid headgroups. Importantly, this pathway selects for the formation of 2-amino alcohol-bearing phospholipid headgroups and enables the accumulation of their natural regioisomers. Finally, we show that the dry-state ring opening of cyclic lysophosphatidic acids leads to a range of self-assembling lysophospholipids. Our results provide new prebiotic routes to key intermediates on the way toward modern phospholipids and illuminate the potential origin and evolution of cell membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maiia Aleksandrova
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Fidan Rahmatova
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - David A. Russell
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Claudia Bonfio
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie
Supramoléculaires (ISIS), CNRS UMR 7006, University of Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France
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5
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Santos TCB, Futerman AH. The fats of the matter: Lipids in prebiotic chemistry and in origin of life studies. Prog Lipid Res 2023; 92:101253. [PMID: 37659458 DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2023.101253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
The unique biophysical and biochemical properties of lipids render them crucial in most models of the origin of life (OoL). Many studies have attempted to delineate the prebiotic pathways by which lipids were formed, how micelles and vesicles were generated, and how these micelles and vesicles became selectively permeable towards the chemical precursors required to initiate and support biochemistry and inheritance. Our analysis of a number of such studies highlights the extremely narrow and limited range of conditions by which an experiment is considered to have successfully modeled a role for lipids in an OoL experiment. This is in line with a recent proposal that bias is introduced into OoL studies by the extent and the kind of human intervention. It is self-evident that OoL studies can only be performed by human intervention, and we now discuss the possibility that some assumptions and simplifications inherent in such experimental approaches do not permit determination of mechanistic insight into the roles of lipids in the OoL. With these limitations in mind, we suggest that more nuanced experimental approaches than those currently pursued may be required to elucidate the generation and function of lipids, micelles and vesicles in the OoL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania C B Santos
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
| | - Anthony H Futerman
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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6
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Daga KR, Feray Çoşar M, Lowenkron A, Hao J, Rouillard J. Environmental Stability and Its Importance for the Emergence of Darwinian Evolution. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1960. [PMID: 37895342 PMCID: PMC10608181 DOI: 10.3390/life13101960] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of Darwinian evolution represents a central point in the history of life as we know it. However, it is generally assumed that the environments in which life appeared were hydrothermal environments, with highly variable conditions in terms of pH, temperature or redox levels. Are evolutionary processes favored to appear in such settings, where the target of biological adaptation changes over time? How would the first evolving populations compete with non-evolving populations? Using a numerical model, we explore the effect of environmental variation on the outcome of the competition between evolving and non-evolving populations of protocells. Our study found that, while evolving protocells consistently outcompete non-evolving populations in stable environments, they are outcompeted in variable environments when environmental variations occur on a timescale similar to the average duration of a generation. This is due to the energetic burden represented by adaptation to the wrong environmental conditions. Since the timescale of temperature variation in natural hydrothermal settings overlaps with the average prokaryote generation time, the current work indicates that a solution must have been found by early life to overcome this threshold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khushi R. Daga
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; (K.R.D.); (M.F.Ç.); (A.L.)
| | - Mensura Feray Çoşar
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; (K.R.D.); (M.F.Ç.); (A.L.)
| | - Abigail Lowenkron
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; (K.R.D.); (M.F.Ç.); (A.L.)
| | - Jihua Hao
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory/CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Joti Rouillard
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA; (K.R.D.); (M.F.Ç.); (A.L.)
- Deep Space Exploration Laboratory/CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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7
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Wozniak K, Brzezinski K. Biological Catalysis and Information Storage Have Relied on N-Glycosyl Derivatives of β-D-Ribofuranose since the Origins of Life. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13050782. [PMID: 37238652 DOI: 10.3390/biom13050782] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Most naturally occurring nucleotides and nucleosides are N-glycosyl derivatives of β-d-ribose. These N-ribosides are involved in most metabolic processes that occur in cells. They are essential components of nucleic acids, forming the basis for genetic information storage and flow. Moreover, these compounds are involved in numerous catalytic processes, including chemical energy production and storage, in which they serve as cofactors or coribozymes. From a chemical point of view, the overall structure of nucleotides and nucleosides is very similar and simple. However, their unique chemical and structural features render these compounds versatile building blocks that are crucial for life processes in all known organisms. Notably, the universal function of these compounds in encoding genetic information and cellular catalysis strongly suggests their essential role in the origins of life. In this review, we summarize major issues related to the role of N-ribosides in biological systems, especially in the context of the origin of life and its further evolution, through the RNA-based World(s), toward the life we observe today. We also discuss possible reasons why life has arisen from derivatives of β-d-ribofuranose instead of compounds based on other sugar moieties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Wozniak
- Department of Structural Biology of Prokaryotic Organisms, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-074 Poznan, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Brzezinski
- Department of Structural Biology of Prokaryotic Organisms, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Noskowskiego 12/14, 61-074 Poznan, Poland
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8
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Dilena G, Pistillo S, Bodo E. About the Formation of NH2OH+ from Gas Phase Reactions under Astrochemical Conditions. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28072932. [PMID: 37049694 PMCID: PMC10096285 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28072932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We present here an analysis of several possible reactive pathways toward the formation of hydroxylamine under astrochemical conditions. The analysis is based on ab initio quantum chemistry calculations. Twenty-one bimolecular ion–molecule reactions have been studied and their thermodynamics presented. Only one of these reactions is a viable direct route to hydroxylamine. We conclude that the contribution of gas-phase chemistry to hydroxylamine formation is probably negligible when compared to its formation via surface grain chemistry. However, we have found several plausible gas-phase reactions whose outcome is the hydroxylamine cation.
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9
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Salibi E, Peter B, Schwille P, Mutschler H. Periodic temperature changes drive the proliferation of self-replicating RNAs in vesicle populations. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1222. [PMID: 36869058 PMCID: PMC9984477 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36940-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Growth and division of biological cells are based on the complex orchestration of spatiotemporally controlled reactions driven by highly evolved proteins. In contrast, it remains unknown how their primordial predecessors could achieve a stable inheritance of cytosolic components before the advent of translation. An attractive scenario assumes that periodic changes of environmental conditions acted as pacemakers for the proliferation of early protocells. Using catalytic RNA (ribozymes) as models for primitive biocatalytic molecules, we demonstrate that the repeated freezing and thawing of aqueous solutions enables the assembly of active ribozymes from inactive precursors encapsulated in separate lipid vesicle populations. Furthermore, we show that encapsulated ribozyme replicators can overcome freezing-induced content loss and successive dilution by freeze-thaw driven propagation in feedstock vesicles. Thus, cyclic freezing and melting of aqueous solvents - a plausible physicochemical driver likely present on early Earth - provides a simple scenario that uncouples compartment growth and division from RNA self-replication, while maintaining the propagation of these replicators inside new vesicle populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elia Salibi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4a, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Benedikt Peter
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Petra Schwille
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152, Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Hannes Mutschler
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4a, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.
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10
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Catalysis before Enzymes: Thiol-Rich Peptides as Molecular Diversity Providers on the Early Earth. DIVERSITY 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/d15020256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
The multiplicity of simple molecules available on the primitive Earth probably made possible the development of extremely diverse prebiotic chemistry. The importance of thiols is widely recognized in the community studying the origin of life. De Duve’s “thioester world” has been considered a major contribution in this regard, where thioester bonds have high energies and thus can contribute to several chemical reactions. Herein, we propose specific models of thiols that exhibit unique activities toward several chemical reactions. Thanks to aminothiol and aminonitrile behaviors, we were able to obtain thiol-rich peptides with interesting catalytic activities leading to the formation of structurally diverse molecules. In a broader context, such chemistry could be introduced into systems chemistry scenarios in which it would be associated with the chemistry of nucleic acids or their precursors, as well as that of fatty acids.
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