The Prevailing Catalytic Role of Meteorites in Formamide Prebiotic Processes

Life
Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro

Abstract

Meteorites are consensually considered to be involved in the origin of life on this Planet for several functions and at different levels: (i) as providers of impact energy during their passage through the atmosphere; (ii) as agents of geodynamics, intended both as starters of the Earth's tectonics and as activators of local hydrothermal systems upon their fall; (iii) as sources of organic materials, at varying levels of limited complexity; and (iv) as catalysts. The consensus about the relevance of these functions differs. We focus on the catalytic activities of the various types of meteorites in reactions relevant for prebiotic chemistry. Formamide was selected as the chemical precursor and various sources of energy were analyzed. The results show that all the meteorites and all the different energy sources tested actively afford complex mixtures of biologically-relevant compounds, indicating the robustness of the formamide-based prebiotic chemistry involved. Although in some cases the yields of products are quite small, the diversity of the detected compounds of biochemical significance underlines the prebiotic importance of meteorite-catalyzed condensation of formamide.

References

Jun 1, 1982·Origins of Life·A M SchoffstallD L Ramos
Jul 31, 1959·Science·S L MILLER, H C UREY
Nov 24, 2004·Current Opinion in Chemical Biology·Steven A BennerMatthew A Carrigan
Jul 23, 2005·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
May 23, 1970·Nature·H ReevesF Hoyle
Jan 13, 2006·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·Raffaele SaladinoGiovanna Costanzo
Apr 7, 2007·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·Giovanna CostanzoErnesto Di Mauro
Feb 18, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Philippe Schmitt-KopplinNorbert Hertkorn
Apr 13, 2011·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Raffaele SaladinoDavid Deamer
Dec 27, 2011·Physics of Life Reviews·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Feb 15, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Armen Y MulkidjanianEugene V Koonin
Apr 5, 2012·Chembiochem : a European Journal of Chemical Biology·Giovanna CostanzoErnesto Di Mauro
Jun 12, 2012·Chemical Society Reviews·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Dec 25, 2012·Cell·Nick Lane, William F Martin
Dec 7, 2013·Chemistry : a European Journal·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Jan 21, 2014·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. a·Martin FerusSvatopluk Civiš
Feb 12, 2014·Astrobiology·Michel NuevoC-Y Robert Wu
Jun 14, 2014·Science·Brandon SchmandtKenneth G Dueker
Sep 10, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Antonino Marco Saitta, Franz Saija
Dec 10, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Martin FerusSvatopluk Civiš
Jan 23, 2015·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Steven A Benner
Apr 15, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Apr 5, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Doreen NietherSimone Wiegand
Apr 8, 2016·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Apr 12, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Martin FerusSvatopluk Civiš
May 10, 2017·Nature Communications·Tara DjokicColin R Ward
Jul 26, 2017·Scientific Reports·Martin FerusSvatopluk Civiš
Nov 9, 2017·Scientific Reports·Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Apr 21, 2019·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Valery G ShtyrlinAlexey V Zakharov
Jul 10, 2020·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Patrizio Campitelli, Marcello Crucianelli
Aug 24, 2019·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Marco d'IschiaVincenzo Barone
May 11, 2020·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Hugo I Cruz-RosasPedro Miramontes
Jul 20, 2021·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Michael O GaylorVytis Karanauskus

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Chemistry : a European Journal
Raffaele SaladinoErnesto Di Mauro
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Martin FerusSvatopluk Civiš
Tanpakushitsu kakusan koso. Protein, nucleic acid, enzyme
J M Hayes
Nature Structural Biology
T Smith
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved