Prebiotic Chemistry: The Amino Acid and Peptide World

Plankensteiner, Kristof; Reiner, Hannes; Rode, Bernd M.

doi:10.2174/1385272054553640

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 145 publications

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“…The endogenous amino acids could have been synthesized from several sources on the prebiotic earth such as: submarine hydrothermal vents (water as solvent and temperature above 100°C), aqueous solutions (water as solvent and temperature below 100°C), heated substances in solid state by lava from volcanoes or impact bolides or radiation, and mixture of gases (Ferris and Hagan 1984;Basiuk et al 1998;Holm and Andersson 2005;Plankensteiner et al 2005) Exogeneous Amino Acids…”

Section: Sources Of Amino Acids On the Prebiotic Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Amino Acids Should Be Used in Prebiotic Chemistry Studies?

Zaia

Santana

2008

Orig Life Evol Biosph

130

103

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The adsorption of amino acids on minerals and their condensation under conditions that resemble those of prebiotic earth is a well studied subject. However, which amino acids should be used in these experiments is still an open question. The main goal of this review is to attempt to answer this question. There were two sources of amino acids for the prebiotic earth: (1) exogenous -- meaning that the amino acids were synthesized outside the earth and delivered to our planet by interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), meteorites, comets, etc. and (2) endogenous -- meaning that they were synthesized on earth in atmospheric mixtures, hydrothermal vents, etc. For prebiotic chemistry studies, the use of a mixture of amino acids from both endogenous and exogenous sources is suggested. The exogenous contribution of amino acids to this mixture is very different from the average composition of proteins, and contains several non-protein amino acids. On the other hand, the mixture of amino acids from endogenous sources is seems to more closely resemble the amino acid composition of terrestrial proteins.

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Section: Sources Of Amino Acids On the Prebiotic Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Amino Acids Should Be Used in Prebiotic Chemistry Studies?

Zaia

Santana

2008

Orig Life Evol Biosph

130

103

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“…Physical means have thus been proposed as for example the effect of a lower water activity in concentrated salt solutions (together with copper catalysts) inducing an increase in peptide stability Rode et al 1999;Plankensteiner et al 2005). A similar behaviour is observed in presence of clays or silica surfaces (Lambert 2008), by submitting an amino acid mixtures to alternations of wet and dry phases (Bujdák and Rode 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Activation of carboxyl group with cyanate: peptide bond formation from dicarboxylic acids

et al. 2011

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The reaction of cyanate with C-terminal carboxyl groups of peptides in aqueous solution was considered as a potential pathway for the abiotic formation of peptide bonds under the condition of the primitive Earth. The catalytic effect of dicarboxylic acids on cyanate hydrolysis was definitely attributed to intramolecular nucleophilic catalysis by the observation of the 1H-NMR signal of succinic anhydride when reacting succinic acid with KOCN in aqueous solution (pH 2.2-5.5). The formation of amide bonds was noticed when adding amino acids or amino acid derivatives into the solution. The reaction of N-acyl aspartic acid derivatives was observed to proceed similarly and the scope of the cyanate-promoted reaction was analyzed from the standpoint of prebiotic peptide formation. The role of cyanate in activating peptide C-terminus constitutes a proof of principle that intramolecular reactions of adducts of peptides C-terminal carboxyl groups with activating agents represent a pathway for peptide activation in aqueous solution, the relevance of which is discussed in connexion with the issue of the emergence of homochirality.

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“…Fundamental questions arise as to how the first organic molecules arrived on Earth and were built up into complex molecules through prebiotic chemistry, whilst being protected from the harsh environment present at the time. Though the view that life arose through an "RNA World" is widely supported [3][4] , there is also an alternative hypothesis that proteins originated first on the early Earth 5 . Lambert has recently reviewed the organization and polymerization of amino acids at mineral surfaces 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chiral interactions of histidine in a hydrated vermiculite clay

Fraser

Greenwell

Skipper

et al. 2011

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

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Graphical Contents EntryWe report chiral differences in the effects of D-and L-histidine on the interlayer spacing of vermiculite clays that are relevant in assessing the role of clays in the origin of bio-homochirality. AbstractRecent work suggests a link between chiral asymmetry in the amino acid iso-valine extracted from the Murchison meteorite and the extent of hydrous alteration. We present the results of neutron scattering experiments on an exchanged, 1-dimensionally ordered n-propyl ammonium vermiculite clay. The vermiculite gel has a (001) d-spacing of order 5nm at the temperature and concentration of the experiments and the d-spacing responds sensitively to changes in concentration, temperature and electronic environment. The data show that isothermal addition of Dhistidine or L-histidine solutions produces shifts in the d-spacing that are different for each enantiomer. This chiral specificity is of interest for the question of whether clays could have played an important role in the origin of biohomochirality.

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Prebiotic Chemistry: The Amino Acid and Peptide World

Cited by 44 publications

References 145 publications

Which Amino Acids Should Be Used in Prebiotic Chemistry Studies?

Which Amino Acids Should Be Used in Prebiotic Chemistry Studies?

Activation of carboxyl group with cyanate: peptide bond formation from dicarboxylic acids

Chiral interactions of histidine in a hydrated vermiculite clay

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