Synthesis of Carbohydrates in Mineral-Guided Prebiotic Cycles
摘要:
One present obstacle to the "RNA-first" model for the origin of life is an inability to generate reasonable "hands off" scenarios for the formation of carbohydrates under conditions where they might have survived for reasonable times once formed. Such scenarios would be especially compelling if they deliver pent(ul)oses, five-carbon sugars found in terran genetics, and exclude other carbohydrates (e.g., aldotetroses) that may also be able to function in genetic systems. Here, we provide detailed chemical analyses of carbohydrate premetabolisin, showing how borate, molybdate, and calcium minerals guide the formation of tetroses (C(4)H(8)O(4)), heptoses (C(7)H(14),O(7)), and pentoses (C(5)H(10)O(5)), including the ribose found in RNA, in "hands off" experiments, starting with formaldehyde and glycoaldehyde. These results show that pent(ul)oses would almost certainly have formed as stable borate complexes on the surface of an early Earth beneath a humid CO(2) atmosphere suffering electrical discharge. While aldotetroses form extremely stable complexes with borate, they are not accessible by pathways plausible under the most likely early Earth scenarios. The stabilization by borate is not, however, absolute. Over longer times, material is expected to have passed from borate-bound pent(ul)oses to a branched heptulose, which is susceptible to Cannizzaro reduction to give dead end products. We show how this fate might be avoided using molybdate-catalyzed rearrangement of a branched pentose that is central to borate-moderated cycles that fix carbon from formaldehyde. Our emerging understanding of the nature of the early Earth, including the presence of hydrated rocks undergoing subduction to form felsic magmas in the early Hadean eon, may have made borate and molydate species available to prebiotic chemistry, despite the overall "reduced" state of the planet.
Synthesis of Carbohydrates in Mineral-Guided Prebiotic Cycles
摘要:
One present obstacle to the "RNA-first" model for the origin of life is an inability to generate reasonable "hands off" scenarios for the formation of carbohydrates under conditions where they might have survived for reasonable times once formed. Such scenarios would be especially compelling if they deliver pent(ul)oses, five-carbon sugars found in terran genetics, and exclude other carbohydrates (e.g., aldotetroses) that may also be able to function in genetic systems. Here, we provide detailed chemical analyses of carbohydrate premetabolisin, showing how borate, molybdate, and calcium minerals guide the formation of tetroses (C(4)H(8)O(4)), heptoses (C(7)H(14),O(7)), and pentoses (C(5)H(10)O(5)), including the ribose found in RNA, in "hands off" experiments, starting with formaldehyde and glycoaldehyde. These results show that pent(ul)oses would almost certainly have formed as stable borate complexes on the surface of an early Earth beneath a humid CO(2) atmosphere suffering electrical discharge. While aldotetroses form extremely stable complexes with borate, they are not accessible by pathways plausible under the most likely early Earth scenarios. The stabilization by borate is not, however, absolute. Over longer times, material is expected to have passed from borate-bound pent(ul)oses to a branched heptulose, which is susceptible to Cannizzaro reduction to give dead end products. We show how this fate might be avoided using molybdate-catalyzed rearrangement of a branched pentose that is central to borate-moderated cycles that fix carbon from formaldehyde. Our emerging understanding of the nature of the early Earth, including the presence of hydrated rocks undergoing subduction to form felsic magmas in the early Hadean eon, may have made borate and molydate species available to prebiotic chemistry, despite the overall "reduced" state of the planet.
Selectiveformosereactions were achieved by diethylaminoethanol as catalyst at 100°C in the presence and the absence of D-fructose as co-catalyst. The reaction in the presence of the co-catalyst g...
Dihydroxyacetone, DL-glycero-tetrulose, and 2,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3-pentulose (2,4-BH-3-P) were favorably formed in a formosereaction by choosing a suitable ratio of water to N,N-dimethylformamide used as solvent or a suitable [thiamine·HCl]/[HCHO] ratio. The formosereaction was strongly affected by the concentration of formaldehyde in the water layer. Under the reaction conditions studied, thiamine
important factor in obtaining the selective formation of the three-branched sugar alcohols. Under these reaction conditions, the α,β-enediol structure is required in an effective co-catalyst for the formosereaction. 2-(Hydroxymethyl)glycerol, 3-(hydroxymethyl)pentitol, and 2,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)pentitol were formed with a high selectivity in the formosereactions catalyzed by KOH, Mg(OH)2, Fe(OH)3
As a model for prebiotic sugar formation under neutral to acidic conditions, reactions of formaldehyde over hydrotalcite-type catalysts were investigated. Heating an aqueous solution of formaldehyde at 140—200 °C for 12 h over Ni–Fe hydrotalcite-type catalyst afforded 2-hydroxy-3,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)-γ-butyrolactone selectively, a 5.8% yield based on gas–liquid chromatographic analysis. The structure
Comparison of the stable products formed by fast atom bombardment and γ-irradiation of glycerol
作者:T. Keough、F. S. Ezra、A. F. Russell、J. D. Pryne
DOI:10.1002/oms.1210220503
日期:1987.5
AbstractThe major end‐products formed by fast atom bombardment (FAB) and γ‐irradiation of glycerol have been identified using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The product distributions differ dramatically. Products resulting from the recombination of either carbon‐centered or oxygen‐centered radicals are evident for both sources of irradiation. However, the major FAB‐generated products are formed by the recombination of carbon‐centered [G – H]· radicals with other carbon‐centered radicals while the major γ‐radiolysis products result from the recombination of oxygen‐centered [G–H]· radicals with lower‐weight carbon‐centered species. γ‐Radiolysis of an N2O‐saturated aqueous solution of glycerol, experimental conditions that strongly favor the formation of carbon‐centered [G – H]· radicals at the expense of the oxygen‐centered species, yielded some products that were identical to those produced by FAB of neat glycerol. Finally, the free radicals produced by γ‐radiolysis of glycerol were investigated by electron spin resonance spectroscopy and spin trapping with 5,5‐dimethyl‐1‐pyrrolne‐TV‐oxide. The presence of only the carbon‐centered free radical was established by this technique. The implications of these results are discussed.