Organophosphates were likely an important class of prebiotic molecules. However, their presence on the early Earth is strongly debated because the low availability of phosphate—generally assumed to have been sequestered in insoluble calcium and iron minerals—is widely viewed as a major barrier to organophosphate generation. Our work demonstrates that an environment enriched in CO2 and cyanide (an essential prebiotic precursor), in conjuction with urea-based solvents, could promote nucleoside phosphorylation by transforming insoluble phosphate minerals in a “warm little pond” scenario to more soluble and reactive species (Fig. 1). Our results suggest that cyanide and its derivatives (metal-cyanide complexes, urea, ammonium formate, and formamide) were key reagents in the incorporation of phosphorus into chemical evolution. These results allow us to propose a holistic scenario in which an evaporitic environment could concentrate abiotically formed organics and transform the underlying minerals, allowing significant organic phosphorylation under plausible prebiotic conditions.

Impact of CO2 and cyanide in prebiotic environments on mineral formation and urea-based phosphorylation reactions

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

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.