TY - JOUR
T1 - A Prerequisite for Life
AU - Toxværd, Søren
PY - 2019/5/3
Y1 - 2019/5/3
N2 - The complex physicochemical structures and chemical reactions in living organism have some common features: (1) The life processes take place in the cytosol in the cells, which, from a physicochemical point of view is an emulsion of biomolecules in a dilute aqueous suspension. (2) All living systems are homochiral with respect to the units of amino acids and carbohydrates, but (some) proteins are chiral unstable in the cytosol. (3) And living organism are mortal. These three common features together give a prerequisite for the prebiotic self-assembly at the start of the Abiogenesis. Here we argue, that it all together indicates, that the prebiotic self-assembly of structures and reactions took place in a more saline environment, whereby the homochirality of proteins not only could be obtained, but also preserved. A more saline environment for the prebiotic self-assembly of organic molecules and establishment of biochemical reactions could have been the hydrothermal vents.
AB - The complex physicochemical structures and chemical reactions in living organism have some common features: (1) The life processes take place in the cytosol in the cells, which, from a physicochemical point of view is an emulsion of biomolecules in a dilute aqueous suspension. (2) All living systems are homochiral with respect to the units of amino acids and carbohydrates, but (some) proteins are chiral unstable in the cytosol. (3) And living organism are mortal. These three common features together give a prerequisite for the prebiotic self-assembly at the start of the Abiogenesis. Here we argue, that it all together indicates, that the prebiotic self-assembly of structures and reactions took place in a more saline environment, whereby the homochirality of proteins not only could be obtained, but also preserved. A more saline environment for the prebiotic self-assembly of organic molecules and establishment of biochemical reactions could have been the hydrothermal vents.
KW - Abiogenesis
KW - Homochirality
KW - Prebiotic environment
UR - http://glass.ruc.dk/pdf/articles/2019_JTheorBio_474.pdf
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.05.001
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0022-5193
VL - 474
SP - 48
EP - 51
JO - Journal of Theoretical Biology
JF - Journal of Theoretical Biology
IS - 474
ER -