Stable isotope analysis at the molecular level: A new approach for determining the origins of amino acids in the Murchison meteorite

Engel, Michael H.; Macko, Stephen A.; Qian, Yongchang; Silfer, J.A.

doi:10.1016/s0273-1177(99)80069-6

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine can be produced directly in electric discharge reactions from CH 4 , N 2 , NH 3 , and H 2 O (35). Racemic 2,3-diaminopropanoic acid was synthesized by spark-discharge experiments (36). The diamino acids 2,4-diaminobutanoic acid and ornithine, which had been suggested to be essential constituents of daPNA monomers (24), were detected in the Murchison meteorite in this work.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Identification of diamino acids in the Murchison meteorite

Meierhenrich

Muñoz

Bredehöft

et al. 2004

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

190

137

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C hondritic meteorites, in particular the CM-type carbonaceous chondrites, make up a unique subset of primitive meteorites, which are of particular interest in the context of origins of life because of their relatively high carbon content and because most of this carbon is present as organic matter. This material is a diverse mixture of compounds that in particular includes carboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids, hydroxy acids, sulfonic acids, phosphonic acids, and amino acids in the form of monoamino alkanoic acids and monoamino alkandioic acids (1). Among these classes of compounds, a very small fraction of the meteoritic isomers is believed to support prebiotic evolutionary processes. We analyzed hydrolyzed hot-water extracts of a fresh sample of the Murchison CM-chondrite by GC-MS with a chiral column. With an efficient derivatization method and an improved detection technique we focused on compounds with more than two functional groups. MethodsA 1.19-g sample (MPI 320͞14) was taken from the interior of the Murchison meteorite by using a stone crusher. The sample provided fresh fracture surfaces. The sample was powdered for 2 ϫ 2 min at 600 rpm by a planetary micro mill (Pulverisette 7, Fritsch, Idar-Oberstein, Germany) in a positive-pressure ''class 100'' clean room. A 5-mg aliquot of the sample was imaged by a raster electron microscope (CS44, CamScan, Cranberry Township, PA), showing a homogeneous particle size distribution in the low micrometer range. A cold-water (water for organic trace analysis, Fluka) extraction was performed with a 130-mg aliquot that was subjected to diamino acid analysis. In parallel, 347 mg of the powdered sample was extracted with 700 l of water for 20 h at 100°C. After centrifugation (Eppendorf safe-lock tubes in Biopur-quality), the liquid phase was split. One hundred microliters was taken for direct derivatization by using the procedure described ref.2, leading to N,NЈ-diethoxycarbonyl diamino acid ethyl ester (ECEE) derivatives. Another aliquot of 100 l was hydrolyzed in 6 M HCl (hydrochloric acid for amino acid analysis, ampoule, Fluka) at 110°C for 24 h (3). After evaporation of the 6 M HCl, the residue was dissolved in 0.1 M HCl and derivatized by the above protocol. The ECEE derivatives obtained in this way were subjected to enantioselective GC-MS (Varian Chrompack Chirasil-L-Val capillary column; 12 m ϫ 0.25-mm inner diameter, 0.12-m film thickness, 250°C inlet temperature, pulsed splitless injection, 1.5 ml⅐min Ϫ1 constant f low of He carrier gas). The oven temperature program applied for the solvent trapping mode started at 50°C with 10°C⅐min Ϫ1 up to 90°C and then with 2°C⅐min Ϫ1 to 110°C, then was 10°C⅐min Ϫ1 to 180°C, where it was held constant for 39 min. The Agilent 6890͞5973 GC-MSD system was used. The identities of the diamino acid peaks obtained via enantioselective GC-MS were verified by comparing the retention times and the mass spectra with literature data (4) and external standards purchased from Fluka. A serpentine sample was taken as a blank (5). Results a...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Identification of diamino acids in the Murchison meteorite

Meierhenrich

Muñoz

Bredehöft

et al. 2004

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

190

137

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The determination of amino acids in the ISM is an issue under discussion (Kuan et al 2003;Snyder et al 2005;Jones et al 2007). b Glavin et al (2006) c Botta et al (2007) d Shimoyama and Ogasawara (2002) e Engel et al (1995) ABA amino-n-butyric acid, AIB aminoisobutyric acid, Ala alanine, Asp aspartic acid, Glu glutamic acid, Gly glycine, Iva isovaline, Ser serine, Val valine. *For those amino acids that the enantiomers were separated, the sum of D plus L enantiomers were done a Glavin et al (2006) b Botta et al (2007) c McPherson et al (1987) (Table 1) obtained the following relative abundances (glycine 1.00) for several runs of experiments simulating ISM: glycine (1.00)/sarcosine (0.100-3.45)/α-alanine (0.053-0.234)/α-serine (0.100-0.115)/β-alanine (0.050-0.079)/α-aspartic acid (0.010-0.036).…”

Section: Sources Of Amino Acids On the Prebiotic Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tables 2, 3, 4 show the relative abundances (the concentration of glycine was taken as 1.00) of amino acids in meteorites (Engel et al 1995;Kminek et al 2002;Shimoyama and Ogasawara 2002;Glavin et al 2006; Allende Tagish Lake Gly 1.000 a,b 1.000 a 1.000 c 1.000 c 1.000 c 1.000 a 1.000 d 1. Kminek et al (2002) 2007; Martins et al 2007a;Martins et al 2007b).…”

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

132

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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“…2). Determination of the isotopic distributions seems to prove that these organic compounds are not of terrestrial origin [72][73][74]. The similar isotopic distribution in h-amino and h-hydroxy acids suggests their formation in a Strecker-type reaction starting from hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and carbonyl compounds (all of which are well-known interstellar molecules) [22,73].…”

Section: The Origin Of Organic Moleculesmentioning

confidence: 99%