{"title":"Determinism of formamide-based biogenic prebiotic reactions","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2024.10.004","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Formamide reacted in the presence of a catalyst and of a source of energy affords a rich and complex panel of compounds, including amino acids, amino sugars, nucleic bases, nucleosides, carboxylic acids, aliphatic chains, and more. Nor the source of energy nor the type of catalyst are fastidious. All the catalysts tested have activity; each catalyst affords its own specific set of products, although the panels of products of each catalyst largely overlap. Potentially biogenic compounds form in reasonable conditions and the chemistry that determines the initial syntheses is facile. Hence, Darwins <em>warm little pond</em> did not rely on exotic environments nor on magic tricks. The type of molecules resulting from a mixture of formamide and of two selected products of its initial reactions hint that the initial prebiotic soup was deterministic and oriented towards life-as-we-know-it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":13.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physics of Life Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064524001283","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Formamide reacted in the presence of a catalyst and of a source of energy affords a rich and complex panel of compounds, including amino acids, amino sugars, nucleic bases, nucleosides, carboxylic acids, aliphatic chains, and more. Nor the source of energy nor the type of catalyst are fastidious. All the catalysts tested have activity; each catalyst affords its own specific set of products, although the panels of products of each catalyst largely overlap. Potentially biogenic compounds form in reasonable conditions and the chemistry that determines the initial syntheses is facile. Hence, Darwins warm little pond did not rely on exotic environments nor on magic tricks. The type of molecules resulting from a mixture of formamide and of two selected products of its initial reactions hint that the initial prebiotic soup was deterministic and oriented towards life-as-we-know-it.
期刊介绍:
Physics of Life Reviews, published quarterly, is an international journal dedicated to review articles on the physics of living systems, complex phenomena in biological systems, and related fields including artificial life, robotics, mathematical bio-semiotics, and artificial intelligent systems. Serving as a unifying force across disciplines, the journal explores living systems comprehensively—from molecules to populations, genetics to mind, and artificial systems modeling these phenomena. Inviting reviews from actively engaged researchers, the journal seeks broad, critical, and accessible contributions that address recent progress and sometimes controversial accounts in the field.