Phosphoric acid salts of amino acids as a source of oligopeptides on the early Earth.
Journal
Communications chemistry
ISSN: 2399-3669
Titre abrégé: Commun Chem
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101725670
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
22 Aug 2024
22 Aug 2024
Historique:
received:
22
01
2024
accepted:
30
07
2024
medline:
23
8
2024
pubmed:
23
8
2024
entrez:
22
8
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Because of their unique proton-conductivity, chains of phosphoric acid molecules are excellent proton-transfer catalysts. Here we demonstrate that this property could have been exploited for the prebiotic synthesis of the first oligopeptide sequences on our planet. Our results suggest that drying highly diluted solutions containing amino acids (like glycine, histidine and arginine) and phosphates in comparable concentrations at elevated temperatures (ca. 80 °C) in an acidic environment could lead to the accumulation of amino acid:phosphoric acid crystalline salts. Subsequent heating of these materials at 100 °C for 1-3 days results in the formation of oligoglycines consisting of up to 24 monomeric units, while arginine and histidine form shorter oligomers (up to trimers) only. Overall, our results suggest that combining the catalytic effect of phosphate chains with the crystalline order present in amino acid:phosphoric acid salts represents a viable solution that could be utilized to generate the first oligopeptide sequences in a mild acidic hydrothermal field scenario. Further, we propose that crystallization could help overcoming cyclic oligomer formation that is a generally known bottleneck of prebiotic polymerization processes preventing further chain growth.
Identifiants
pubmed: 39174757
doi: 10.1038/s42004-024-01264-6
pii: 10.1038/s42004-024-01264-6
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
185Subventions
Organisme : Grantová Agentura České Republiky (Grant Agency of the Czech Republic)
ID : 22-25057S
Organisme : EC | European Regional Development Fund (Europski Fond za Regionalni Razvoj)
ID : CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/18_046/0015974
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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