Electrochemistry at Deep‐Sea Hydrothermal Vents: Utilization of the Thermodynamic Driving Force towards the Autotrophic Origin of Life

Ooka, Hideshi; McGlynn, Shawn E.; Nakamura, Ryuhei

doi:10.1002/celc.201801432

Cited by 30 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 114 publications

(301 reference statements)

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“…Each side has envisioned their abiogenic scenario from a trophic point of view: if the carbon source for organosynthesis was eminently inorganic (usually CO 2 ), this represented an autotrophic origin (e.g. [183]), whereas if the carbon source were reduced organic compounds, a heterotrophic one (e.g. [184]).…”

Section: The Food Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions

Preiner

Asche

Becker

et al. 2020

Life

109

150

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Research on the origin of life is highly heterogeneous. After a peculiar historical development, it still includes strongly opposed views which potentially hinder progress. In the 1st Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting, early-career researchers gathered to explore the commonalities between theories and approaches, critical divergence points, and expectations for the future. We find that even though classical approaches and theories—e.g., bottom-up and top-down, RNA world vs. metabolism-first—have been prevalent in origin of life research, they are ceasing to be mutually exclusive and they can and should feed integrating approaches. Here we focus on pressing questions and recent developments that bridge the classical disciplines and approaches, and highlight expectations for future endeavours in origin of life research.

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Section: The Food Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions

Preiner

Asche

Becker

et al. 2020

Life

109

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Submarine hydrothermal vents are zones of complex interactions between reduced endmember fluids and relatively oxidized seawater (Reeves et al, 2014;Ooka et al, 2019). Terrestrial hydrothermal systems, such as the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, USA, provide a source of reduced fluids that are oxidized by degassing and mixing with air and surface groundwater as well as biological activity including sulfide oxidation (Lindsay et al, 2018).…”

Section: Comparison Of Redox and Salinity Gradientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering chemical signatures of salinity gradients through compositional analysis of protein sequences

Dick¹,

Yu²,

Tan³

2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Thermodynamic influences on the chemical compositions of proteins in nature have remained enigmatic despite much work that demonstrates the impact of environmental conditions on amino acid frequencies. Here, we present evidence that the dehydrating effect of salinity is detectable as chemical differences in protein sequences inferred from (1) metagenomes and metatranscriptomes in regional salinity gradients and (2) differential gene and protein expression in microbial cells under hyperosmotic stress. The stoichiometric hydration state (nH2O), derived from the number of water molecules in theoretical reactions to form proteins from a particular set of basis species (glutamine, glutamic acid, cysteine, O2, H2O), decreases along salinity gradients including the Baltic Sea and Amazon River and ocean plume and in particle-associated compared to free-living fractions. However, the proposed metric does not behave as expected for hypersaline environments. Analysis of data compiled for hyperosmotic stress experiments under controlled laboratory conditions shows that differentially expressed proteins, as well as proteins coded by differentially expressed transcripts, are on average shifted toward lower nH2O. Notably, the dehydration effect is stronger for most organic solutes compared to NaCl. This new method of compositional analysis can be used to identify possible thermodynamic effects in the distribution of proteins along chemical gradients at a range of scales from biofilms to oceans.

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“…To search for the hypothesized dehydration signal in metagenomic data, we began with redox gradients as a negative control. Submarine hydrothermal vents are zones of complex interactions between reduced endmember fluids and relatively oxidized seawater 36,37 . Terrestrial hydrothermal systems, such as the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, USA, provide a source of reduced fluids that are oxidized by degassing and mixing with air and surface groundwater as well as biological activity including sulfide 8/31 oxidation 38 .…”

Section: Comparison Of Redox and Salinity Gradientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct trends in chemical composition of proteins from metagenomes in redox and salinity gradients

Tan

2020

Preprint

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Thermodynamic influences on the chemical compositions of proteins have remained enigmatic despite much work that demonstrates the impact of environmental conditions on amino acid frequencies. Here, we show that the dehydrating effect of salinity is apparent in protein sequences inferred from metagenomes and metatranscriptomes. The stoichiometric hydration state (n H 2 O ), derived from the number of water molecules in theoretical reactions to form proteins from a particular set of basis species (glutamine, glutamic acid, cysteine, O 2 , H 2 O), decreases along salinity gradients including the Baltic Sea, Amazon River and ocean plume, and other samples from freshwater and marine environments. Analysis of other metagenomic datasets shows that differences in carbon oxidation state, rather than stoichiometric hydration state, are a stronger indicator of redox gradients than salinity gradients. These compositional metrics can help to identify thermodynamic effects in the distribution of proteins along chemical gradients at scales from geologic systems to cells.

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Electrochemistry at Deep‐Sea Hydrothermal Vents: Utilization of the Thermodynamic Driving Force towards the Autotrophic Origin of Life

Cited by 30 publications

References 114 publications

The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions

The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions

Uncovering chemical signatures of salinity gradients through compositional analysis of protein sequences

Distinct trends in chemical composition of proteins from metagenomes in redox and salinity gradients

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