期刊
ORIGINS OF LIFE AND EVOLUTION OF BIOSPHERES
卷 43, 期 4-5, 页码 341-352出版社
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11084-013-9349-y
关键词
Solar photochemistry; Pyruvic acid; Primitive metabolism; Aqueous environments
类别
资金
- National Science Foundation [NSF CHE-1011770]
- NASA
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- Division Of Chemistry
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1306386] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Coupling chemical reactions to an energy source is a necessary step in the origin of life. Here, we utilize UV photons provided by a simulated sun to activate aqueous pyruvic acid and subsequently prompt chemical reactions mimicking some of the functions of modern metabolism. Pyruvic acid is interesting in a prebiotic context due to its prevalence in modern metabolism and its abiotic availability on early Earth. Here, pyruvic acid (CH3COCOOH, a C-3 molecule) photochemically reacts to produce more complex molecules containing four or more carbon atoms. Acetoin (CH3CHOHCOCH3), a C-4 molecule and a modern bacterial metabolite, is produced in this chemistry as well as lactic acid (CH3CHOHCOOH), a molecule which, when coupled with other abiotic chemical reaction pathways, can provide a regeneration pathway for pyruvic acid. This chemistry is discussed in the context of plausible environments on early Earth such as near the ocean surface and atmospheric aerosol particles. These environments allow for combination and exchange of reactants and products of other reaction environments (such as shallow hydrothermal vents). The result could be a contribution to the steady increase in chemical complexity requisite in the origin of life.
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