Phosphorylation with Inorganic Phosphates at Moderate Temperatures

Beck, A.; Lohrmann, R.; Orgel, Leslie E.

doi:10.1126/science.157.3791.952

Cited by 36 publications

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“…Formamide-The phosphorylation of adenosine by two different phosphate donors was analyzed for the sake of comparison with previously reported nucleoside phosphorylation systems (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)14) and to define the kinetics and the product regioselectivity of the phosphate reactions in formamide.…”

Section: Phosphorylation Of Adenosine By Kh 2 Po 4 or 5ј-cmp Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phosphonic acids have been proposed as a source of biophosphates (4). For the phosphorylation of nucleosides, two early reports described the preparation of uridine phosphates by heating uridine with inorganic phosphates in an aqueous environment (5) and the effects of condensing agents on this reaction (6). However, the inefficiency of the system due to the competition of water with the nucleoside was pointed out by the authors.…”

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Nucleoside Phosphorylation by Phosphate Minerals

Costanzo

Saladino

Crestini

et al. 2007

Journal of Biological Chemistry

118

126

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2؉ (PO 4 ) 2 (OH) 4 ).Based on their behavior in the formamide-driven nucleoside phosphorylation reaction, these minerals can be characterized as: 1) inactive, 2) low level phosphorylating agents, or 3) active phosphorylating agents. Instances were detected (Libethenite and Hydroxylapatite) in which phosphorylation occurs on the mineral surface, followed by release of the phosphorylated compounds. Libethenite and Cornetite markedly protect the ␤-glycosidic bond. Thus, activated nucleic monomers can form in a liquid non-aqueous environment in conditions compatible with the thermodynamics of polymerization, providing a solution to the standard-state Gibbs free energy change (⌬G°') problem, the major obstacle for polymerizations in the liquid phase in plausible prebiotic scenarios.In prebiotic scenarios biopolymers can be thought of as condensation products of abiotically formed monomers. Polymers (polysaccharides, peptides, and polynucleotides) will not spontaneously form in an aqueous solution from their monomers because of the standard-state Gibbs free-energy change (⌬G°'), as critically reviewed in Ref.(1). Thermodynamic considerations impose that amino acid polymerization or the formation of phosphodiester or glycosidic linkages will be spontaneous only under highly dehydrating conditions. Thus, either (i) life did not arise in aqueous environments, or (ii) pre-genetic polymerizations required activated monomers.In the polymerization process of nucleic acids extant organisms activate the monomers by converting them to phosphorylated derivatives and then utilize the favorable free energy of phosphate hydrolysis to drive the reaction. Does this present day process mimic spontaneously occurring prebiotic reactions, thus representing a sort of biochemiomimesis descending from ancient pathways, or should it be considered a fully novel cellular invention?The Source of Phosphate Is a Problem-Early studies on the condensation of water-soluble phosphates to polyphosphates and on the phosphorylation, condensation, or polymerization of biomolecules with polyphosphates have been reviewed (2, 3). Most of the phosphorus in the early Earth would have been in the form of water-insoluble minerals like apatites. Therefore, the origin of the water-soluble (poly)phosphates required for prebiotic evolution has long been a mystery (2). Yamagata et al. (3) showed that volcanic activity produces water-soluble phosphates through partial hydrolysis of P 4 O 10 , providing at least a partial solution to their origin. However, as pointed out, phosphates from hydrolysis of polyphosphate would precipitate to the sea bed as insoluble salts.The phosphorylation of biological molecules has been explored through several different routes. Phosphonic acids have been proposed as a source of biophosphates (4). For the phosphorylation of nucleosides, two early reports described the preparation of uridine phosphates by heating uridine with inorganic phosphates in an aqueous environment (5) and the effects of condensing agents on this reaction (6). ...

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Section: Phosphorylation Of Adenosine By Kh 2 Po 4 or 5ј-cmp Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nucleoside Phosphorylation by Phosphate Minerals

Costanzo

Saladino

Crestini

et al. 2007

Journal of Biological Chemistry

118

126

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“…These reactions require fairly high temperatures and are not very efficient (Beck et al, 1967). However, urea, and to a lesser extent amides such as acetamide, catalyze the reaction, particularly if ammonium phosphate is used as the inorganic component.…”

Section: Phosphorylation Of Nucleosidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origin of the RNA World

Orgel

2004

Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

909

248

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The demonstration that ribosomal peptide synthesis is a ribozyme-catalyzed reaction makes it almost certain that there was once an RNA World. The central problem for origin-of-life studies, therefore, is to understand how a protein-free RNA World became established on the primitive Earth. We first review the literature on the prebiotic synthesis of the nucleotides, the nonenzymatic synthesis and copying of polynucleotides, and the selection of ribozyme catalysts of a kind that might have facilitated polynucleotide replication. This leads to a brief outline of the Molecular Biologists' Dream, an optimistic scenario for the origin of the RNA World. In the second part of the review we point out the many unresolved problems presented by the Molecular Biologists' Dream. This in turn leads to a discussion of genetic systems simpler than RNA that might have "invented" RNA. Finally, we review studies of prebiotic membrane formation.

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“…Nucleosides can be phosphorylated with acidic phosphates such as NaH 2 PO 4 when dry heated (Beck et al 1967). These reactions are catalyzed by urea and other amides, particularly if NH 3 is included in the reaction.…”

Section: Nucleosides Nucleotidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prebiotic Chemistry: What We Know, What We Don't

Cleaves

2012

Evo Edu Outreach

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How life on Earth began remains an unexplained scientific problem. This problem is nuanced in its practical details and the way attempted explanations feedback with questions and developments in other areas of science, including astronomy, biology, and planetary science. Prebiotic chemistry attempts to address this issue theoretically, experimentally, and observationally. The ease of formation of bioorganic compounds under plausible prebiotic conditions suggests that these molecules were present in the primitive terrestrial environment. In addition to synthesis in the Earth's primordial atmosphere and oceans, it is likely that the infall of comets, meteorites, and interplanetary dust particles, as well as submarine hydrothermal vent synthesis, may have contributed to prebiotic organic evolution. The primordial organic soup may have been quite complex, but it did not likely include all of the compounds found in modern organisms. Regardless of their origin, organic compounds would need to be concentrated and complexified by environmental mechanisms. While this review is by no means exhaustive, many of the issues central to the state of the art of prebiotic chemistry are reviewed here.

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Phosphorylation with Inorganic Phosphates at Moderate Temperatures

Abstract: Uridine phosphates may be obtained by heating uridine with inorganic phosphates for 9 months at temperatures as low as 65 degrees C. Under similar conditions, uridine-5'-phosphate, in addition to forming uridine diphosphates, undergoes some dephosphorylation to give uridine.

Cited by 36 publications

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Nucleoside Phosphorylation by Phosphate Minerals

Nucleoside Phosphorylation by Phosphate Minerals

Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origin of the RNA World

Prebiotic Chemistry: What We Know, What We Don't

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