TY - JOUR
T1 - A radical pathway for organic phosphorylation during schreibersite corrosion with implications for the origin of life
AU - Pasek, Matthew A.
AU - Dworkin, Jason P.
AU - Lauretta, Dante S.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank S. Benner, G. Cody, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful discussions. This work was supported by NASA Exobiology, grant NAG5-13470 (D.S.L.), and by the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Goddard Center for Astrobiology (J.P.D.), and through a GSRP grant through the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Goddard Center for Astrobiology (M.A.P.). We also thank Joseph A. Nuth III, James H. Doty III, and Andrei Astashkin for technical assistance.
PY - 2007/4/1
Y1 - 2007/4/1
N2 - Phosphorylated compounds (e.g., DNA, RNA, phospholipids, and many coenzymes) are critical to biochemistry. Thus, their origin is of prime interest to origin of life studies. The corrosion of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite ((Fe, Ni)3P) may have significantly contributed to the origin of phosphorylated biomolecules. Corrosion of synthetic schreibersite in a variety of solutions was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. These methods suggest a free-radical reaction pathway for the corrosion of schreibersite to form phosphite radicals ({radical dot} PO32 -) in aqueous solution. These radicals can form activated polyphosphates and can phosphorylate organic compounds such as acetate to form phosphonates and organophosphates (3% total yield). Phosphonates (O3P-C) are found in the organic P inventory of the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. While phosphonates are rare in biochemistry, the ubiquity of corroding iron meteorites on the early Earth could have provided a source of organic phosphorous compounds for the origin of life, and may have led to the role of organophosphates as a product of early evolution.
AB - Phosphorylated compounds (e.g., DNA, RNA, phospholipids, and many coenzymes) are critical to biochemistry. Thus, their origin is of prime interest to origin of life studies. The corrosion of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite ((Fe, Ni)3P) may have significantly contributed to the origin of phosphorylated biomolecules. Corrosion of synthetic schreibersite in a variety of solutions was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. These methods suggest a free-radical reaction pathway for the corrosion of schreibersite to form phosphite radicals ({radical dot} PO32 -) in aqueous solution. These radicals can form activated polyphosphates and can phosphorylate organic compounds such as acetate to form phosphonates and organophosphates (3% total yield). Phosphonates (O3P-C) are found in the organic P inventory of the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. While phosphonates are rare in biochemistry, the ubiquity of corroding iron meteorites on the early Earth could have provided a source of organic phosphorous compounds for the origin of life, and may have led to the role of organophosphates as a product of early evolution.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.gca.2006.12.018
DO - 10.1016/j.gca.2006.12.018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33947182407
VL - 71
SP - 1721
EP - 1736
JO - Geochmica et Cosmochimica Acta
JF - Geochmica et Cosmochimica Acta
SN - 0016-7037
IS - 7
ER -