Chemical constraints governing the origin of metabolism: The thermodynamic landscape of carbon group transformations under mild aqueous conditions

Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere

Volumn 32, Issue 4, 2002, Pages 333-357

  Weber, Arthur L ^a  

^a NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

Biosynthesis; Free energy; Metabolism; Molecular evolution; Prebiotic synthesis; Sugar chemistry; Thermodynamics

Indexed keywords

CARBON; HYDROGEN; WATER;

METABOLISM; ORGANIC MATTER; ORIGIN OF LIFE; THERMODYNAMICS;

ARTICLE; ASTRONOMY; CHEMISTRY; ENERGY METABOLISM; METABOLISM; OXIDATION REDUCTION REACTION; THEORETICAL MODEL; THERMODYNAMICS;

CARBON; ENERGY METABOLISM; EVOLUTION, CHEMICAL; HYDROGEN; MODELS, THEORETICAL; OXIDATION-REDUCTION; THERMODYNAMICS; WATER;

EID: 0036669319     PISSN: 01696149     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1020588925703     Document Type: Article

References (46)

1. Abeles, R. H., Frey, P A. and Jencks, W. P.: 1992, Biochemistry, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston, pp. 740-748.
2. Aurian-Blajeni, B., Halmann, M. and Manassen, J.: 1981, Photoreduction of carbon dioxide and water into formaldehyde and methanol on semiconductor materials, Solar Energy 25, 165-175.
3. Bartok, M. and Molnar, A.: 1980, 'Dehydration of diols', in S. Patai (ed.), The Chemistry of Ethers, Crown Ethers, Hydroxyl Groups and Their Sulphur Analogues (Part 2), John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 721-760.
4. Bar-Nun A and Hartman, H.: 1978, Synthesis of organic compounds from carbon monoxide by UV photolysis, Origins Life 9, 93-101.
5. Battley, E. H.: 1987, Energetics of Microbial Growth, Wiley-Interscience, New York, pp. 360-422.
6. Benkovic, S. J. and Sampaon, E. J.: 1971, Structure-reactivity correlation for the hydrolysis of phosphoramidate monoanions, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 93, 4009-4016.
7. Canuto, V. M., Levine, T. R., Augustsson, C. L., Imhoff, C. L. and Giampapa, M. S.: 1983, The young sun and the atmosphere and photochemistry of the early earth, Nature 305, 281-286.
8. Chittenden, G. J. F. and Schwartz, A. W.: 1981, Prebiotic photocatalytic reactions, BioSystems 14, 15-32.
9. Davis, B. D.: 1958, The importance of being ionized, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 78, 497-509.
10. Feather, M. S. and Harris, J. F.: 1973, 'Dehydration reactions of carbohydrates', in R. S. Tipson and D. Horton (eds.), Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry, Vol. 28, Academic Press, New York, pp. 161-224.
11. Federonko, M. and Konigstein, J.: 1969, Kinetics of mutual isomerization of trioses and their dehydration to methylglyoxal, Collection Czechoslov. Chem. Commun. 34, 3881-3894.
12. Ferris, J. P. and Chen, C. T.: 1975, Chemical evolution. XXVI. Photochemistry of methane, nitrogen and water mixtures as a model for the atmosphere of the primitive earth. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 97, 2962-2967.
13. Grimmett, M. R.: 1965, Formation of heterocyclic compounds from carbohydrates and ammonia, Rev. Pure and Appl. Chem. 15, 101-108.
14. Halmann, M., Aurian-Blajeni, B. and Bloch, S.: 1981, 'Photoassisted carbon dioxide reduction and formation of two- and three-carbon compounds', in Y. Wolman, (ed.), Origin of Life, D. Reidel Publishing Co., New York, pp. 143-150.
15. 2O in a simulated martian atmosphere, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 68, 574-578.
16. Jencks, W. P.: 1976, 'Free energies of hydrolysis and decarboxylation', in G. D. Fasman (ed.), Handbook of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition), CRC Press, Cleveland, pp. 296-304.
17. Jencks, W. P.: 1987, Catalysis in Chemistry and Enzymology, Dover Publications, New York, pp. 117-123.
18. 2 levels on surface temperature and atmospheric oxidation state of the early earth, J. Atmos. Chem. 1, 403-428.
19. Katritzky, A. R., Nichols, D. A., Siskin, M., Murugan, R. and Balasubramanian M: 2001, Reactions in high-temperature aqueous media, Chem. Rev. 101, 837-892.
20. Knozinger, H.: 1971, 'The dehydration of alcohols', in S. Patai (ed.), The Chemistry of the Hydroxyl Group (Part 2), John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 641-718.
21. Kort, M. J.: 1970, 'Reactions of free sugars with aqueous ammonia', in R. S. Tipson and D. Horton (eds.), Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry, Vol. 25, Academic Press, New York, pp. 311-349.
22. Lohrmann, R. and Orgel, L. E.: 1973, Prebiotic activation processes, Nature 244, 418-420.
23. Mavrovouniotis, M. L.: 1990, Group contributions for estimating standard Gibbs energies of formation of biochemical compounds in aqueous solution, Biotec. Bioeng. 36, 1070-1082.
24. Mavrovouniotis, M. L.: 1991, Estimation of standard Gibbs energy changes of biotransformations, J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14440-14445.
25. 2, Origins Life 14, 83-90.
26. Mizuno, T. and Weiss, A. H.: 1974, 'Synthesis and utilization of formose sugars', in R. S. Tipson and D. Horton (eds.), Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry, Vol. 29, Academic Press, New York, pp. 173-215.
27. Nielsen, A. T. and Houlihan, W. J.: 1968, 'The aldol condensation', in A. C. Cope (ed.), Organic Reactions, Vol. 16, John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 1-438.
28. Pinto, J. P., Gladstone, G. R. and Yung, Y. L.: 1980, Photochemical production of formaldehyde in earth's primitive atmosphere, Science 210, 183-185.
29. Quayle, J. R. and Ferenci, T.: 1978, 'Evolutionary aspects of autotrophy', Microbiol. Rev. 42, 251-273.
30. Ramayya, S., Brittain, A., DeAlmeida, C., Mok, W. and Antal, M. J., Jr.: 1987, Acid-catalyzed dehydration of alcohols in supercritical water, Fuel 66, 1364-1371.
31. Reeves, R. L.: 1966, 'Condensations leading to double bonds', in S. Patai (ed.), The Chemistry of the Carbonyl Group, Interscience Publishers, New York, pp. 567-619.
32. Schwartz, A. W. and de Graaf, R. M.: 1993, The prebiotic synthesis of carbohydrates: A reassessment, J. Mol. Evol. 35, 101-106.
33. Siskin, M. and Katritzky, A. R.: 2001, Reactivity of organic compounds in superheated water: General background, Chem. Rev. 101, 825-835.
34. Thauer, R. K., Jungermann, K. and Decker, K.: 1977, Energy conservation in chemotrophic anaerobic bacteria, Bacteriol. Rev. 41, 100-180.
35. Wheatley, D. N., Inglis, M. S., Malone, P. C.: 1986, 'The concept of the intracellular amino acid pool and its relevance in the regulation of protein metabolism, with particular reference to mammalian cells', in B. L. Horecker and E. R. Stadtman (eds.), Current Topics in Cellular Regulation, Vol. 28, Academic Press, New York, pp. 107-182.
36. Weber, A. L.: 1981, Formation of pyrophosphate, tripolyphosphate and phosphorylimidazole with the thioester, N,S-diacetylcysteamine, as the condensing agent, J. Mol. Evol. 18, 24-29.
37. Weber, A. L.: 1984a, Nonenzymatic formation of 'energy-rich' lactoyl and glyceroyl thioesters from glyceraldehyde and a thiol, J. Mol. Evol. 20, 157-166.
38. Weber, A. L.: 1984b, Prebiotic formation of 'energy-rich' thioesters from glyceraldehyde and N-acetylcysteine, Origins Life 15, 17-27.
39. Weber, A. L.: 1997, Energy from redox disproportionation of sugar carbon drives biotic and abiotic synthesis, J. Mol. Evol. 44, 354-360.
40. Weber, A. L.: 1998, Prebiotic amino acid thioester synthesis: Thiol-dependent amino acid synthesis from formose substrates (formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde) and ammonia, Orig. Life Evol. Biosphere 28, 259-270.
41. Weber, A. L.: 2000, Sugars as the optimal biosynthetic carbon substrate of aqueous life throughout the universe, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 30, 33-43.
42. Weber, A. L.: 2001a, The sugar model: Catalysis by amines and amino acid products, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 31, 71-86.
43. Weber, A. L.: 2001b, The sugar model: Catalytic flow reactor dynamics of pyruvaldehyde synthesis from triose catalyzed by poly-l-lysine in a dialyzer, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 31, 231-240.
44. Westheimer, F. H.: 1987, Why nature chose phosphates, Science 235, 1173-1178.
45. Zubay, G.: 1983a, Biochemistry, Addison-Wesley, London, pp. 365-369.
46. Zubay, G.: 1983b, Biochemistry, Addison-Wesley, London, pp. 429-434.