Identifying a prebiotic pathway for phosphorus incorporation into biopolymers has been a significant challenge in the origin of life community and is commonly referred to as the phosphate problem. Phosphorus is unique among the most abundant elements of life because it does not persist in a volatile phase. The challenge in liberating phosphorus from minerals on the early Earth and incorporating it into biomolecules is two-fold. Many phosphorus-bearing minerals are highly insoluble in aqueous solution, limiting the availability of dissolved phosphorus. Additionally, the thermodynamics of phosphorylation by phosphate in water are unfavorable. Over the past decade, researchers in the Center for Chemical Evolution have identified multiple plausible pathways leading to phosphorylation of prebiotic molecules. Minerals containing reduced phosphorus, such as schreibersite and metal phosphites, release energetic phosphorus species into aqueous solution that then phosphorylate molecules such as glycerol and adenosine under mild heating. Urea-rich solvents are able to phosphorylate prebiotic molecules and will transform insoluble but abundant hydroxyapatite into more soluble and reactive phosphate minerals including newberyite and struvite. These results suggest that multiple avenues for the transformation of phosphorus from minerals to biomolecules were likely to occur on the prebiotic Earth.

Transforming phosphorus from minerals to biomolecules on a prebiotic earth

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

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