Nucleoside phosphorylation by the mineral schreibersite

Gull, Maheen; Mojica, Mike; Fernández, Facundo M.; Gaul, David A.; Orlando, Thomas M.; Liotta, Charles L.; Pasek, Matthew A.

doi:10.1038/srep17198

Cited by 89 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…The ppm scale is referenced to 0, being 85% H 3 PO 4 . The yield of phosphorylated product within this system is about 12% of the total dissolved P. Such a yield is higher than the yield from reactions in just water of schreibersite 22 but lower than directed reactions with condensed phosphates.…”

Section: Synthesismentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Phosphorylation by schreibersite now has been demonstrated with glycerol, nucleosides, and with choline, suggesting that schreibersite is a fairly robust phosphorylation source. 21,22 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15,22 Solutional chemistry would require a reactive solute to phosphorylate an organic. Such a solute might be trimetaphosphate, 5 which can be synthesized from schreibersite albeit in very small concentrations via oxidation.…”

Section: Schreibersite Oxidation Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of the surface of the mineral schreibersite in prebiotic chemistry

Cruz

Qasim

Abbott-Lyon

et al. 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

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aWe present a study of the reactions of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite (Fe,Ni) 3 P, focusing primarily on surface chemistry and prebiotic phosphorylation. In this work, a synthetic analogue of the mineral was synthesized by mixing stoichiometric proportions of elemental iron, nickel and phosphorus and heating in a tube furnace at 820 1C for approximately 235 hours under argon or under vacuum, a modification of the method of Skála and Drábek (2002). Once synthesized, the schreibersite was characterized to confirm the identity of the product as well as to elucidate the oxidation processes affecting the surface. In addition to characterization of the solid product, this schreibersite was reacted with water or with organic solutes in a choline chloride-urea deep eutectic mixture, to constrain potential prebiotic products. Major inorganic solutes produced by reaction of water include orthophosphate, phosphite, pyrophosphate and hypophosphate consistent with prior work on Fe 3 P corrosion. Additionally, schreibersite corrodes in water and dries down to form a deep eutectic solution, generating phosphorylated products, in this case phosphocholine, using this synthesized schreibersite.

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Section: Synthesismentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Phosphorylation by schreibersite now has been demonstrated with glycerol, nucleosides, and with choline, suggesting that schreibersite is a fairly robust phosphorylation source. 21,22 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of the surface of the mineral schreibersite in prebiotic chemistry

Cruz

Qasim

Abbott-Lyon

et al. 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

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“…This is ample time given that lab experiments show hourto-week-long timescales are sufficient to form adenosine and AMP [2,3].…”

Section: Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin of the RNA world: The fate of nucleobases in warm little ponds

Pearce

Pudritz

Semenov

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

165

222

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Prior to the origin of simple cellular life, the building blocks of RNA (nucleotides) had to form and polymerize in favourable environments on the early Earth. At this time, meteorites and interplanetary dust particles delivered organics such as nucleobases (the characteristic molecules of nucleotides) to warm little ponds whose wet-dry cycles promoted rapid polymerization. We build a comprehensive numerical model for the evolution of nucleobases in warm little ponds leading to the emergence of the first nucleotides and RNA. We couple Earth's early evolution with complex prebiotic chemistry in these environments. We find that RNA polymers must have emerged very quickly after the deposition of meteorites (< a few years). Their constituent nucleobases were primarily meteoritic in origin and not from interplanetary dust particles. Ponds appeared as continents rose out of the early global ocean but this increasing availability of "targets" for meteorites was offset by declining meteorite bombardment rates. Moreover, the rapid losses of nucleobases to pond seepage during wet periods, and to UV photodissociation during dry periods means that the synthesis of nucleotides and their polymerization into RNA occurred in just one to a few wet-dry cycles. Under these conditions, RNA polymers likely appeared prior to 4.17 billion years ago.Significance: There are currently two competing hypotheses for the site at which an RNA world emerged: hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean and warm little ponds. Because the former lacks wet and dry cycles, which are well known to promote polymerization (in this case, of nucleotides into RNA), we construct a comprehensive model for the origin of RNA in the latter sites. Our model advances the story and timeline of the RNA world by constraining the source of biomolecules, the environmental conditions, the timescales of reaction, and the emergence of first RNA polymers.Keywords: life origins | astrobiology | planetary science | meteoritics | RNA worldOne of the most fundamental questions in science is how life first emerged on the Earth. Given its ubiquity in living cells and its ability to both store genetic information and catalyze its own replication, RNA probably formed the basis of first life [1]. RNA molecules are made up of sequences of 4 different nucleotides, the latter of which can be formed through reaction of a nucleobase with a ribose and a reduced phosphorous (P) source [2,3]. The evidence suggests that first life appeared earlier than 3.7 Gyr ago (Ga) [4,5] and thus the RNA world would have developed on a violent early Earth undergoing meteoritic bombardment at a rate of ∼1-1000 ×10 12 kg/yr [6], which is approximately 8-11 orders of magnitude greater than today [7]. At this time, the atmosphere was dominated by volcanic gases, and dry land was scarce as continents were rising out of the global ocean. [8,9], the answer to these questions are largely unknown.As to the sources of nucleobases, the early Earth's atmosphere was likely dominated by CO 2 , N 2 , SO 2 , and H 2 O [10...

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“…[25] Others seek to introduce phosphate in a lower oxidation state from meteorites. [26] Others seek to alter the environment of the mineral. For example, during review of this paper, Burcar et al reported an elegant study showing phosphate release from apatite in eutectics made from water, urea, and ammonium formate.…”

Section: Nearlyallprebioticchemistryisdoneinglasswarefromthementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaporite Borate‐Containing Mineral Ensembles Make Phosphate Available and Regiospecifically Phosphorylate Ribonucleosides: Borate as a Multifaceted Problem Solver in Prebiotic Chemistry

et al. 2016

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RNA is currently thought to have been the first biopolymer to support Darwinian natural selection on Earth. However, the phosphate esters in RNA and its precursors, and the many sites at which phosphorylation might occur in ribonucleosides under conditions that make it possible, challenge prebiotic chemists. Moreover, free inorganic phosphate may have been scarce on early Earth owing to its sequestration by calcium in the unreactive mineral hydroxyapatite. Herein, it is shown that these problems can be mitigated by a particular geological environment that contains borate, magnesium, sulfate, calcium, and phosphate in evaporite deposits. Actual geological environments, reproduced here, show that Mg and borate sequester phosphate from calcium to form the mineral lüneburgite. Ribonucleosides stabilized by borate mobilize borate and phosphate from lüneburgite, and are then regiospecifically phosphorylated by the mineral. Thus, in addition to guiding carbohydrate pre-metabolism, borate minerals in evaporite geoorganic contexts offer a solution to the phosphate problem in the "RNA first" model for the origins of life.

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Nucleoside phosphorylation by the mineral schreibersite

Cited by 89 publications

References 29 publications

The evolution of the surface of the mineral schreibersite in prebiotic chemistry

The evolution of the surface of the mineral schreibersite in prebiotic chemistry

Origin of the RNA world: The fate of nucleobases in warm little ponds

Evaporite Borate‐Containing Mineral Ensembles Make Phosphate Available and Regiospecifically Phosphorylate Ribonucleosides: Borate as a Multifaceted Problem Solver in Prebiotic Chemistry

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