Boron in Prebiological Evolution

Franco, Ana Paula; Silva, José Armando L. da

doi:10.1002/anie.202010616

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 120 publications

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“…Hematite has also been used in the prebiotic synthesis of GP [6]. Similarly, borates (including ulexite) have been considered to have played an important role in the chemical origin of biological molecules, particularly in the plausible stability of sugars [20][21][22], even though their presence on the Hadean Earth is somewhat questionable [23]. Olivines ([Fe,Mg] 2 SiO 4 ) are considered to be one of the most ubiquitous and primitive minerals on the Earth [24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalytic Prebiotic Formation of Glycerol Phosphate Esters and an Estimation of Their Steady State Abundance under Plausible Early Earth Conditions

Gull

Pasek

2021

Catalysts

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The emergence of biological phosphate esters of glycerol could have been a crucial step in the origin and evolution of life on the early Earth as glycerol phosphates today play a central role in biochemistry. We investigate here the formation of the glycerol phosphates by employing various rock samples, salts, and minerals as potential catalysts to aid the phosphorylation process. We report the synthesis of various phosphate esters of glycerol including glycerol-1-phosphate, glycerol-2-phosphate, cyclic glycerol-monophosphate as well as various diphosphate esters. Furthermore, the decomposition rates of glycerol phosphate under mild heating were also studied while keeping the pH constant. It was observed that glycerol phosphate starts decomposing quickly under mild heating conditions into inorganic orthophosphate and pyrophosphate, and a steady state concentration of ~0.5 M of glycerol phosphate may have been reasonable in ponds with abundant glycerol, phosphate, urea, and catalytic minerals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalytic Prebiotic Formation of Glycerol Phosphate Esters and an Estimation of Their Steady State Abundance under Plausible Early Earth Conditions

Gull

Pasek

2021

Catalysts

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“…The AI-2 quorum-sensing autoinducer and subsequent transformation in a borate-diester furanosyl structure generate the active form complex [ 164 ], which implies that B is involved in signalling pathways; furthermore, the demonstration that borate is required for the synthesis of stable pentoses, including ribose [ 5 ], suggested that B was involved in the prebiotic synthesis of biomolecules. Later, it was described that the in vitro synthesis of ribonucleotides was enhanced by B binding to 2′ and 3′ positions [ 167 ]. Therefore, it was considered that B could be a “staple” element that stabilizes the synthesis and/or activate molecules.…”

Section: Boron Complexing Moleculesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, to date, there is no experimental evidence of in vivo borate-complexing with nucleotides. Moreover, B was hypothetically important for the stable prebiotic synthesis of ribonucleotides [ 167 ], but once synthesized, the phosphate at the 5′-position destabilizes borate bound to ribose [ 206 ]. This can explain why SAM has a higher affinity for B binding and, at the same time, does not support the in vivo complexation of ribonucleotide phosphates.…”

Section: Boron Complexing Moleculesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Can Boron Deficiency Symptoms Tell Us about Its Function and Regulation?

Bolaños

Abreu

Bonilla

et al. 2023

Plants

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On the eve of the 100th anniversary of Dr. Warington’s discovery of boron (B) as a nutrient essential for higher plants, “boronists” have struggled to demonstrate a role beyond its structural function in cell walls dimerizing pectin molecules of rhamnogalacturonan II (RGII). In this regard, B deficiency has been associated with a plethora of symptoms in plants that include macroscopic symptoms like growth arrest and cell death and biochemical or molecular symptoms that include changes in cell wall pore size, apoplast acidification, or a steep ROS production that leads to an oxidative burst. Aiming to shed light on B functions in plant biology, we proposed here a unifying model integrating the current knowledge about B function(s) in plants to explain why B deficiency can cause such remarkable effects on plant growth and development, impacting crop productivity. In addition, based on recent experimental evidence that suggests the existence of different B ligands other than RGII in plant cells, namely glycolipids, and glycoproteins, we proposed an experimental pipeline to identify putative missing ligands and to determine how they would integrate into the above-mentioned model.

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“…[62] Franco and da Silva pointed to the possible importance of boron-containing minerals in the prebiotic synthesis of ribonucleotides. [65] Furthermore, it has been suggested that microcavities in rocks [66,67] can serve as reaction compartments [55,68,69] (Figures 1 and 2c). Hansma formulated the mica hypothesis, which entails that the gaps between mica sheets can act as cell-like compartments.…”

Section: Minerals and Rocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 62 ] Franco and da Silva pointed to the possible importance of boron‐containing minerals in the prebiotic synthesis of ribonucleotides. [ 65 ]…”

Section: Relevant Prebiotic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protocells: Milestones and Recent Advances

Gözen

Köksal

Põldsalu

et al. 2022

Small

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to assemble astonishing pieces of a complicated puzzle, and realized that further advancement requires input from multiple branches of science, not just biology as the primary life science. Detailed hypotheses have been established about the different scenarios of the emergence of life, including the "RNA world," [1] the "lipid world," [2] "replicator first," [3] "metabolism first," [4][5][6] and others. Although the origin of life is still surrounded by many open questions, our understanding of chemical, physicochemical, and biochemical processes possibly involved in the ancient events preceding Darwinian evolution has seen much progress. We have come a long way from Leduc's physicochemical, inorganic matter-centered view on the beginning of the evolution, yet the matter of the transition from nonliving to living matter still remains largely unsolved, and one of the great scientific problems of our time.The phylogenetic tree of different living domains reflects that life has evolved from simple to more complex structures, i.e., from single-to multicellular organisms. The oldest fossil evidence dating back 3.5 Gy (billion years) comes from stromatolites, [7][8][9][10] microorganismal residues in sedimentary rocks. [11] There appears to be a gap of knowledge regarding the period of evolution between the first primitive hypothetical cells and the fossilized ancient bacteria, which can be considered as an already advanced form of life. [12] It is highly likely that intermediate primitive cell precursors preceded the single-cell organisms. The hypothetical prebiotic structures that were the stepping stone to first self-sustaining living cells are commonly termed "protocells." The possibility of a strong link between the formation of protocells and the origin of life can today be reasonably assumed.One cannot easily proceed in the context of the evolution of cell-based organisms without briefly illuminating the concept of life as we know it on our planet. Over time, different requirements have been proposed for an entity to be considered alive. According to Tibor Ganti's chemoton model, [13] a protocell contains three autocatalytic subsystems: a membrane subsystem that keeps the components together and intact, a metabolic subsystem that captures energy and material resources, and an information subsystem that processes and transfers heritable information to progeny. To be considered alive, these subsystems must be unified and function co-operatively for the survival and evolution of the supersystem. Pohorille and Deamer suggested a modified set of 7 criteria related to the chemoton. [14] At about the same time, Oro defined the requirements by 10 characteristic features. [15] Despite their differences, these descriptions align well with NASA's broader definition of life: "a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution."The origin of life is still one of humankind's great mysteries. At the transition between nonliving and living matter, protocells, initially featureless aggregates of abiotic matter, ga...

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Boron in Prebiological Evolution

Cited by 11 publications

References 120 publications

Catalytic Prebiotic Formation of Glycerol Phosphate Esters and an Estimation of Their Steady State Abundance under Plausible Early Earth Conditions

Catalytic Prebiotic Formation of Glycerol Phosphate Esters and an Estimation of Their Steady State Abundance under Plausible Early Earth Conditions

What Can Boron Deficiency Symptoms Tell Us about Its Function and Regulation?

Protocells: Milestones and Recent Advances

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