Prebiotic nucleotide synthesis-demonstration of a geologically plausible pathway

Abstract

Mineral phosphate (apatite) is activated for the synthesis of nucleotides when dilute solutions containing nucleoside and ammonium oxalate are evaporated in its presence. A natural, igneous fluorapatite was found to be even more effective in nucleotide synthesis than the more soluble hydroxylapatite. The phosphorylation is considerably more efficient if urea of cyanamide is also present. Hydrolysis of solutions of cyanogen to form oxalate and urea among other products is a spontaneous process that provides a geologically plausible model for necleotide synthesis on the primitive earth.

Thermal Synthesis of Nucleoside H-Phosphonates Under Mild Conditions

“…In related work, evaporation of a solution containing the products of the oligomerization of cyanogen in the presence of fluoroapatite and nucleoside was also demonstrated to result in efficient nucleotide synthesis (Schwartz et al, 1975). Oligomerization of HCN as well as of cyanogen produces a complex set of products including oxalate and urea as major components.…”

Formation of nucleoside 5′-polyphosphates from nucleotides and trimetaphosphate

“…In this paper we have shown how e f f i c i e n t nucleoside p o l y p h o s p h a t e f o r m a t i o n can be achieved. The formation of nucleoside monop h o s p h a t e s under p o t e n t i a l l y p r e b i o t i c conditions has been d e m o n s t r a t e d r e p e a t e d l y in the past (Kenyon & Steinman, 1969;Orgel & Lohrmann, 1974;Schwartz et al, 1975). It has been further shown that linear inorganic p o l y p h o s p h a t e s are o b t a i n e d under similar conditions (Knollmueller, 1967; R a b i n o w i t z et al, 1968; 0 s t e r b e r g & Orgel, 1972).…”

Glasses as sources of condensed phosphates on the early earth

“…The phosphite that Pasek and co-workers postulate to have been prebiotically active would be an oxidation product of phosphide that was delivered to Earth during the Hadean-Archean heavy meteorite bombardment >3.9 Ga [37]. This scenario is a potential solution of the ‘phosphate problem’ as discussed by Schwartz [40,41], i.e. solubilization of phosphate compounds is necessary before activation can occur.…”