The distribution of chiral asymmetry in meteorites: An investigation using asymmetric autocatalytic chiral sensors

Kawasaki, Tsuneomi; Hatase, Kunihiko; Fujii, Yusuke; Jo, Kazumichi; Soai, Kenso; Pizzarello, Sandra

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2006.08.006

Cited by 58 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In this regard, they may give further hints that, in the early Solar System, whatever asymmetric forces produced EE may have been more significant than once believed. For example, it has been shown that the actual largest and ubiquitous source of meteoritic organic carbon, the macromolecular carbon, also contains a (unknown) source of asymmetry (48). If, as suggested, the polyols in this work resulted partially from formose reactions, then they (or their higher homologs) may be constituents of this unknown source of asymmetry, given that the macromolecular carbon is also similar to formaldehyde reaction products (49).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites

Cooper

Rios

2016

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

123

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Biological polymers such as nucleic acids and proteins are constructed of only one-the D or L-of the two possible nonsuperimposable mirror images (enantiomers) of selected organic compounds. However, before the advent of life, it is generally assumed that chemical reactions produced 50:50 (racemic) mixtures of enantiomers, as evidenced by common abiotic laboratory syntheses. Carbonaceous meteorites contain clues to prebiotic chemistry because they preserve a record of some of the Solar System's earliest (∼4.5 Gy) chemical and physical processes. In multiple carbonaceous meteorites, we show that both rare and common sugar monoacids (aldonic acids) contain significant excesses of the D enantiomer, whereas other (comparable) sugar acids and sugar alcohols are racemic. Although the proposed origins of such excesses are still tentative, the findings imply that meteoritic compounds and/or the processes that operated on meteoritic precursors may have played an ancient role in the enantiomer composition of life's carbohydrate-related biopolymers.carbonaceous meteorites | sugar acids | enantiomer excesses | aldonic acids | polyols T he organic phase of carbonaceous meteorites comprises an insoluble "macromolecular" material (1-3), a complex mixture of largely uncharacterized solvent-extractable compounds (4), as well as discrete (identified) soluble organic compounds such as amino acids (3, 5) nucleobases (6, 7), and sugar derivatives (8). Analyses of this prebiotic organic carbon have been important in understanding its early Solar System synthesis and history: Characteristics of the organic phase suggest that it consists of both products and survivors of interstellar/presolar grain irradiation (9) and subsequent encapsulation and aqueous reactions (10, 11) in asteroids "parent bodies."Several identified meteoritic organic compounds are chiral: They can exist as two nonsuperimposable mirror image compounds called enantiomers, commonly designated D and L. To date, most chiral meteoritic compounds are reported to be racemic mixtures, i.e., their D and L enantiomers are equal in abundance (3). Racemic compounds are expected in nature because typical abiotic synthetic processes are (historically) thought to occur in the absence of asymmetric influences. Racemic mixtures are equated with pristine/uncontaminated abiotic samples when discussing meteoritic compounds. However, some meteoritic amino acids that are rare on Earth, i.e., they are not constituents of proteins and therefore less likely to be contaminants, have been confirmed to contain L enantiomer excesses (EE) (3, 12, 13). The origins of such excesses are unknown.Sugars, aldehydes, or ketones that contain multiple carbon hydroxyl (carbon alcohol) groups, are also chiral and were likely necessary for the origin of life. In the majority of extant biological sugars and derivatives ("polyols"), the D enantiomers are significantly more abundant than the L enantiomers (we will note exceptions in Results and Natural Occurrence of Relevant Sugar Derivatives and Enantiomers)...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites

Cooper

Rios

2016

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

123

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“…The asymmetry resides in powders after extraction with water and solvents as well as in the insoluble organic material obtained after demineralization. Asymmetry is not found any longer in the insoluble organic matter after hydrothermal treatment and in meteorite powders from which all organics had been removed (Kawasaki et al 2006).…”

Section: Meteoritesmentioning

confidence: 96%

E

2015

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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DefinitionThe Earth is the planet on which we live. It is the third planet from the Sun and one of the telluric (small and rocky) planets of our ▶ Solar System. It has a mean radius of 6,371 km and a mean density of 5.515 g cm À3 . It is distinguished from other planets by the presence of ▶ continental crust, oceans, and ▶ life. Its unusually large core and satellite (the Moon) are believed to result from the collision of a Mars-sized body (protoplanet ▶ Theia) about 4.45 Ga ago.

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“…This hypothesis is being tested by laboratory experiments [35][36][37] but the source of the CPL at the vicinity of the early solar system still needs to be assessed. Chirality has been suggested to also occur in the IOM [38] and in hydroxy acids [39]. These enantiomeric excesses found in organic matter in chondrites may have been transferred to prebiotic molecules at the moment of the emergence of Life by various processes, including asymmetric catalysis [40].…”

Section: Diversity Of Organic Compounds In Meteoritesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic material in meteorites and the link to the origin of life

Rémusat

2014

BIO Web of Conferences

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Abstract. Life requires specific conditions that have been, so far, only proven to meet on Earth. Though the chemical elements required to form living organism (C, H, N, O, S, etc) are widespread in the universe, the molecules that are crucial for Life, like nucleobases or amino acids, may not be so ubiquitous. The question of the formation of small and complex molecules is highly relevant to understand the process of Life origin. Carbonaceous chondrites are a class of meteorites rich in organic compounds and host potential precursors for the emergence of Life (organic matter and water). They could have been the source of complex molecules on the early Earth. This contribution will describe the main properties of the organic matter recovered from carbonaceous chondrites. However, the isotopic and molecular record of organic compounds is faded by secondary processes that occurred on the parent body of these meteorites. This results in complex signatures that raise multiple questions about the origin of organic compounds in the Solar System.

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The distribution of chiral asymmetry in meteorites: An investigation using asymmetric autocatalytic chiral sensors

Cited by 58 publications

References 44 publications

Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites

Enantiomer excesses of rare and common sugar derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites

E

Organic material in meteorites and the link to the origin of life

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