Minerals as Prebiotic Catalysts for Chemical Evolution towards the Origin of Life

LI, Yamei

doi:10.5772/intechopen.102389

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 100 publications

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“…The origin of life on Earth and the conditions under which it may have arisen remain a mystery, due in part to the lack of knowledge about the Earth's environment 4.2 billion years ago and the available chemicals during that time. [98,99] It is also difficult to imagine the setting of the origin of life to be in a single type of environment or location as a variety of reactions/chemical processes, such as spark discharge, [100] UV irradiation, [101] mineral catalysis, [102] or dehydration-rehydration cycles, [103] likely contributed to the emergence of early life, each of which may have been more favorable in different environmental settings. [44] Thus, the origins of life required a variety of settings: [98,99] at the bottom of the ocean floor, [104] near hydrothermal vents, [105] or in hot springs, [106] just to name a few.…”

Section: Primitive Biopolymer-based Coacervatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Gap Between Primitive and Modern Phase Separation

Cannelli,

Gupta,

Nguyen

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a process that often occurs due to binding between oppositely charged biopolymers, and has gained increasing attention recently due to their ubiquity in biological systems and ability to direct essential cellular processes. For example, aberrant biological LLPS can lead to the emergence and progression of various diseases and disorders, and many significant advances have been made in the biological phase separation field. However, while these discoveries in biology are recent, the field of origins of life has been investigating LLPS for nearly 100 years, ever since the first suggestions by Oparin and Haldane that primitive LLPS could have been precursors to the first cells on Earth. Since then, a significant amount of work has been done to elucidate different primitive LLPS systems that could have been relevant as protocellular models. Given the structural similarities between primitive LLPS and modern membraneless organelles, there may even be an evolutionary link between the two, although this remains a question to be answered. Nevertheless, in order to answer this, a source that compares aspects of modern and primitive LLPS is necessary. Here, we first focus on the assembly of membraneless organelles from intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and nucleic acids, and discuss an example by which aberrant LLPS can result in progression of a disease (tumorigenesis). Then, as a parallel, we explore assembly of primitive membraneless compartments from simple biopolymers such as short peptides and nucleic acids. This is followed by a discussion of how the first biomolecules on Earth may have originated, analyzing the environmental and chemical conditions that could have favored primitive LLPS processes. Finally, we directly compare various aspects of LLPS assembly from both a primitive and a modern perspective, further discussing the potential of primitive IDPs on early Earth, but also the evolution from membraneless to membrane-bound cells. This review aims to provide a comparison of modern and primitive phase separation, including assembly and function, in order to help researchers in both fields understand the current state of knowledge, how this knowledge evolved, and the current gaps that need to be further addressed.

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Section: Primitive Biopolymer-based Coacervatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Gap Between Primitive and Modern Phase Separation

Cannelli,

Gupta,

Nguyen

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…As a physical environment, minerals can contain large surface area to volume ratios, with much of the area being internal 2D interlayers such as in clays, or narrow networks of rock pores that are shielded from light as well as turbulent flow. For an overview of the importance of minerals for prebiotic chemistry, we refer readers to [ 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ].…”

Section: Prebiotic Microenvironments and Where To Find Themmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Physicochemical Consideration of Prebiotic Microenvironments for Self-Assembly and Prebiotic Chemistry

Saha

Fahrenbach

et al. 2022

Life

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The origin of life on Earth required myriads of chemical and physical processes. These include the formation of the planet and its geological structures, the formation of the first primitive chemicals, reaction, and assembly of these primitive chemicals to form more complex or functional products and assemblies, and finally the formation of the first cells (or protocells) on early Earth, which eventually evolved into modern cells. Each of these processes presumably occurred within specific prebiotic reaction environments, which could have been diverse in physical and chemical properties. While there are resources that describe prebiotically plausible environments or nutrient availability, here, we attempt to aggregate the literature for the various physicochemical properties of different prebiotic reaction microenvironments on early Earth. We introduce a handful of properties that can be quantified through physical or chemical techniques. The values for these physicochemical properties, if they are known, are then presented for each reaction environment, giving the reader a sense of the environmental variability of such properties. Such a resource may be useful for prebiotic chemists to understand the range of conditions in each reaction environment, or to select the medium most applicable for their targeted reaction of interest for exploratory studies.

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A compositional view comparing modern biological condensates and primitive phase‐separated compartments

Cannelli,

Gupta,

Nguyen

et al. 2023

Peptide Science

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Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a process that often occurs due to binding between oppositely charged biopolymers, and has gained increasing attention recently due to their ubiquity in biological systems and ability to direct essential cellular processes. However, while these discoveries in biology are recent, the field of origins of life has been investigating LLPS for nearly 100 years, ever since the first suggestions by Oparin and Haldane that primitive LLPS could have been precursors to the first cells on Earth. Since then, a significant amount of work has been done to elucidate different primitive LLPS systems that could have been relevant as protocellular models. Given the structural similarities between primitive LLPS and modern membraneless organelles, there may even be an evolutionary link between the two, although this remains a question to be answered. Nevertheless, in order to answer this, a source that compares compositional aspects of modern biological condensates and primitive LLPS is necessary. Here, we first focus on membraneless organelles composed of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and nucleic acids. Then, as a parallel, we explore primitive membraneless compartments composed of simple biopolymers such as short peptides and nucleic acids. This is followed by a discussion of how the first biomolecules on Earth may have originated, analyzing the environmental and chemical conditions that could have favored primitive LLPS processes. Finally, we directly compare composition of modern biological condensates and primitive phase‐separated compartments, further discussing the potential of primitive IDPs on early Earth, but also the evolution from membraneless to membrane‐bound cells. This review aims to provide a compositional comparison of modern and primitive phase‐separated structures in order to help researchers in both fields understand the current state of knowledge, how this knowledge evolved, and the current gaps that need to be further addressed.

show abstract

Minerals as Prebiotic Catalysts for Chemical Evolution towards the Origin of Life

Cited by 5 publications

References 100 publications

Bridging the Gap Between Primitive and Modern Phase Separation

Bridging the Gap Between Primitive and Modern Phase Separation

A Physicochemical Consideration of Prebiotic Microenvironments for Self-Assembly and Prebiotic Chemistry

A compositional view comparing modern biological condensates and primitive phase‐separated compartments

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