The role of water in the origin of life and its function in the primitive gene

Good, W.

doi:10.1016/0022-5193(73)90097-0

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…April 1 2004 ''NASA rover finds more signs of past water on Mars''). Water is central to life as we know it (Ball, 2004;Good, 1973;Papagiannis, 1992). Water is the biological solvent.…”

Section: Astrobiological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chance and necessity do not explain the origin of life

Trevors

Abel

2004

Cell Biology International

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Where and how did the complex genetic instruction set programmed into DNA come into existence? The genetic set may have arisen elsewhere and was transported to the Earth. If not, it arose on the Earth, and became the genetic code in a previous lifeless, physical-chemical world. Even if RNA or DNA were inserted into a lifeless world, they would not contain any genetic instructions unless each nucleotide selection in the sequence was programmed for function. Even then, a predetermined communication system would have had to be in place for any message to be understood at the destination. Transcription and translation would not necessarily have been needed in an RNA world. Ribozymes could have accomplished some of the simpler functions of current protein enzymes. Templating of single RNA strands followed by retemplating back to a sense strand could have occurred. But this process does not explain the derivation of "sense" in any strand. "Sense" means algorithmic function achieved through sequences of certain decision-node switch-settings. These particular primary structures determine secondary and tertiary structures. Each sequence determines minimum-free-energy folding propensities, binding site specificity, and function. Minimal metabolism would be needed for cells to be capable of growth and division. All known metabolism is cybernetic--that is, it is programmatically and algorithmically organized and controlled.

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“…April 1 2004 ''NASA rover finds more signs of past water on Mars''). Water is central to life as we know it (Ball, 2004;Good, 1973;Papagiannis, 1992). Water is the biological solvent.…”

Section: Astrobiological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chance and necessity do not explain the origin of life

Trevors

Abel

2004

Cell Biology International

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“…The omnipotence of water has exerted a profound influence on the function, specificity, and evolution of biomolecular stability. Their self‐assembly has been believed to involve water most intimately [4–7]. Water plays a very important role in determining the properties of colloidal and macromolecular systems and, in particular, the way in which proteins as well as nucleic acids acquire their native structure and then interact with other small or large compounds.…”

Section: Properties Of Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of water structure in conformational changes of nucleic acids in ambient and high‐pressure conditions

Barciszewski

Jurczak

Porowski

et al. 1999

European Journal of Biochemistry

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This review describes and summarizes data on the structure and properties of water under normal conditions, at high salt concentration and under high pressure. We correlate the observed conformational changes in nucleic acids with changes in water structure and activity, and suggest a mechanism of conformational transitions of nucleic acids which accounts for changes in the water structure. From the biophysical, biochemical and crystallographic data we conclude that the Z-DNA form can be induced only at low water activity produced by high salt concentrations or high pressure, and accompanied by the stabilizing conjugative effect of the cytidine O4 H electrons of the CG base pairs.Keywords: structure of water, high pressure, conformational changes, nucleic acids.Water molecules influence specific interactions in all biological systems and yet it is still extremely difficult to understand their effect in precise atomic models. Recent studies of water effects on biological macromolecules have made molecular biologists aware of the important role that this solvent plays in the structure and function of proteins, nucleic acids and other cell constituents. Also we now realize how little we know about the detailed behaviour of water molecules. In recent years there has been an explosion in the number of new X-ray structures for protein±DNA complexes and other biomolecules. Many of those structures feature water molecules buried at the intermolecular interface, or assign them with reasonable confidence to good geometry of water oxygen atoms, at the coordination space of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. Thus, hydrogen bonding networks between proteins and nucleic acids often include water molecules, which have not been anticipated from our previous understanding of the molecular basis for macromolecular recognition, which always predicted direct contacts between functional groups. The contribution of hydration to the energetics of macromolecular assembly and catalysis was recognized a long time ago. The cost of removing all the perturbated water, or the benefit of fully hydrating a newly exposed surface is around 3.6±62.7 kJ´mol 21 per 100 A Ê 2 . It is rather high in comparison to ATP molecule hydrolysis which yields 30.5 kcal´mol 21 .We now put forward several basic questions concerning water interactions with proteins and nucleic acids, the strength of these interactions, and their localisation, structure and effect on the conformation of various biological macromolecules. The role of water in biology is not very well understood in detail and is still controversial. Water molecules appear to be both the cement that fills crevices between amino acid building blocks and the lubricant that allows motion of these elements [1]. In consequence, they allow a biological molecule to adopt a tertiary structure without being trapped in a local minimum energy state, as well as to compensate for a poor steric fit of side chains in macromolecule interiors and substrates in the binding sites [2,3]. These interactions of water mol...

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“…S e v e r a l i n v e s t i g a t o r s h a v e s t u d i e d the c a t a l y t i c p o l y m e r i -zation of amino acids and purine bases into complex macromolecules such as polypeptides, induced by clay m i n e r a l s (see the recent reviews by Fripiat & C r u z -C u m p l i d o (1974), Anderson & Banin (1975), Calvin (1974, Good (1973), and K a t c h a l sky (1973). A n d e r s o n & Banin (1973,1975) have indicated the ability of e x p a n d i n g clays to affect the o r i e n t a t i o n and p o s i t i o n i n g of reactant molecules, where o r d i n a r y p h e n o m e n a such as flocculation, wetting and drying, or freezing and thawing, have a great influence on these processes.…”

Section: B E R N a L (1951) W A S T H E F I R S T To S U G G E S T T mentioning

confidence: 96%

Simultaneous existence of different environments in aqueous clay systems and its possible role in prebiotic synthesis

Lahav

1975

J Mol Evol

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The formation of packets of parallel oriented platelets and separating distances of several angstrom units in montmorillonite-water systems produces an intrinsic inhomogeneity with respect to the proton donating power of internal and external zones. Stable packets can be induced by both inorganic and organic molecules or ions, in suspensions or in drying-out systems. The coexistence of zones with different proton donating power was demonstrated by the pH-sensitive color reaction of benzidine, where stable packets of montmorillonite platelets were formed by the use of either paraquat or diquat. The close proximity of the two types of zones, which can be of the order of several angstroms, produces the conditions which were defined by Katchalsky as essential for the polymerization of amino acids. Since these enviromental conditions are quite common in nature, both at present and in prebiotic times, it is proposed that the inhomogeneity of clay-water systems with respect to proton donating power should be taken into account in both theoretical and experimental efforts to demonstrate the catalytic activity of clays in prebiotic synthesis.

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The role of water in the origin of life and its function in the primitive gene

Cited by 17 publications

References 121 publications

Chance and necessity do not explain the origin of life

Chance and necessity do not explain the origin of life

The role of water structure in conformational changes of nucleic acids in ambient and high‐pressure conditions

Simultaneous existence of different environments in aqueous clay systems and its possible role in prebiotic synthesis

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