Sprecher
Beschreibung
Eloi Camprubi (1), Gabriella Garza (1), Jay Forsythe (2)
1) School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 West University Dr, Edinburg, Texas 78539-2909
2) School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, College of Charleston, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424
Iron sulfide minerals have long been discussed regarding abiogenesis (1,2). Of all their rich catalytic repertoire, the promotion of polymerization reactions is of special interest for the origin of life. Non-enzymatic polymerizations have long been thought to be infeasible under aqueous conditions due to product (H2O) inhibition (3), yet polymerization reactions in cells take place in an obviously aqueous environment. We have investigated the catalytic properties of tochilinite – a Mg-rich iron sulfide mineral (4) – for promoting the non-enzymatic polymerization of nucleotides by coupling free energy in the form of pH gradients to the synthesis of RNA oligomers. Hadean alkaline hydrothermal vents (AHV) could have provided natural pH and redox gradients, which have been proposed to promote the synthesis and complexification of organics (5). Using a microfluidics approach to achieve an experimental out-of-equilibrium regime (6) we show that ATP polymerization takes place under simulated AHV conditions.
[1] Russell J. M. et al., 1993. Terra Nova, 5(4):343-347.
[2] Wächtershäuser, G., 1988. Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 10(3):207-210.
[3] Damer, B. and Deamer, D., 2015. Life, 5(1):872–887.
[4] Russell, M., 2018. Life, 8(3):35.
[5] Altair, T. et al., 2021. Life, 11(8):777.
[6] Radadia, A.D., 2008. Springer, Boston.