Mimicking the prebiotic acidic hydrothermal environment: One‐pot prebiotic hydrothermal synthesis of glucose phosphates

Gull, Maheen; Wang, Yu; Wang, Yingwu; Shi, Zhan; Feng, Shouhua

doi:10.1002/hc.20675

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In other words, reactions with Δ G r 0 > τ were removed. The Δ G r 0 of the reactions was estimated using eQuilibrator [27,28]. It should be noted that there was a lack of free energy estimation in more than one third of KEGG reactions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphates as Energy Sources to Expand Metabolic Networks

Tian

Chu

Yang

et al. 2019

Life

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Phosphates are essential for modern metabolisms. A recent study reported a phosphate-free metabolic network and suggested that thioesters, rather than phosphates, could alleviate thermodynamic bottlenecks of network expansion. As a result, it was considered that a phosphorus-independent metabolism could exist before the phosphate-based genetic coding system. To explore the origin of phosphorus-dependent metabolism, the present study constructs a protometabolic network that contains phosphates prebiotically available using computational systems biology approaches. It is found that some primitive phosphorylated intermediates could greatly alleviate thermodynamic bottlenecks of network expansion. Moreover, the phosphorus-dependent metabolic network exhibits several ancient features. Taken together, it is concluded that phosphates played a role as important as that of thioesters during the origin and evolution of metabolism. Both phosphorus and sulfur are speculated to be critical to the origin of life.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphates as Energy Sources to Expand Metabolic Networks

Tian

Chu

Yang

et al. 2019

Life

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“…Thus, thioesters and related compounds may have served as the primordial energy source of life [ 89 , 90 ]. Also, the first energy-rich C-O-P-type compounds, catalysed by clay, can have formed under plausible hydrothermal conditions [ 91 , 92 ].…”

Section: Molecular Ecosystems In Biogenic Photochemical Reactorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primal Eukaryogenesis: On the Communal Nature of Precellular States, Ancestral to Modern Life

Egel

2012

Life

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This problem-oriented, exploratory and hypothesis-driven discourse toward the unknown combines several basic tenets: (i) a photo-active metal sulfide scenario of primal biogenesis in the porespace of shallow sedimentary flats, in contrast to hot deep-sea hydrothermal vent conditions; (ii) an inherently complex communal system at the common root of present life forms; (iii) a high degree of internal compartmentalization at this communal root, progressively resembling coenocytic (syncytial) super-cells; (iv) a direct connection from such communal super-cells to proto-eukaryotic macro-cell organization; and (v) multiple rounds of micro-cellular escape with streamlined reductive evolution-leading to the major prokaryotic cell lines, as well as to megaviruses and other viral lineages. Hopefully, such nontraditional concepts and approaches will contribute to coherent and plausible views about the origins and early life on Earth. In particular, the coevolutionary emergence from a communal system at the common root can most naturally explain the vast discrepancy in subcellular organization between modern eukaryotes on the one hand and both archaea and bacteria on the other.

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“…Transfer of orthophosphate from these geochemical sources to prebiotically important organic compounds is therefore a key requirement for the origins of life. However, previous examples of prebiotic phosphorylation reactions, which use orthophosphate directly, require aggressive heating conditions in conjunction with an activating reagent to overcome the high kinetic barrier for the activation of orthophosphate [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and/or the use of non-aqueous eutectic solvents such as urea and formamide 15,16 . In particular, aggressive heating conditions (typically at 100°C) can have deleterious effects on other molecules through either hydrolysis or other unwanted side reactions and are likely incompatible with any form of protocellular chemistry.…”

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confidence: 99%

A physicochemical orthophosphate cycle via a kinetically stable thermodynamically activated intermediate enables mild prebiotic phosphorylations

2021

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The incorporation of orthophosphate from scarce geochemical sources into the organic compounds essential for life under mild conditions is a fundamental challenge for prebiotic chemistry. Here we report a prebiotic system capable of overcoming this challenge by taking inspiration from extant life’s recycling of orthophosphate via its conversion into kinetically stable thermodynamically activated (KSTA) nucleotide triphosphates (e.g. ATP). We separate the activation of orthophosphate from its transfer to organic compounds by, crucially, first accumulating a KSTA phosphoramidate. We use cyanate to activate orthophosphate in aqueous solution under mild conditions and then react it with imidazole to accumulate the KSTA imidazole phosphate. In a paste, imidazole phosphate phosphorylates all the essential building blocks of life. Integration of this chemistry into a wet/dry cycle enables the continuous recycling of orthophosphate and the accretion of phosphorylated compounds. This system functions even at low reagent concentrations due to solutes concentrating during evaporation. Our system demonstrates a general strategy for how to maximise the usage of scarce resources based upon cycles which accumulate and then release activated intermediates.

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Mimicking the prebiotic acidic hydrothermal environment: One‐pot prebiotic hydrothermal synthesis of glucose phosphates

Cited by 16 publications

References 39 publications

Phosphates as Energy Sources to Expand Metabolic Networks

Phosphates as Energy Sources to Expand Metabolic Networks

Primal Eukaryogenesis: On the Communal Nature of Precellular States, Ancestral to Modern Life

A physicochemical orthophosphate cycle via a kinetically stable thermodynamically activated intermediate enables mild prebiotic phosphorylations

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