Abstract
Living matter is an organized system which requires a continual flux of energy for its survival. As a working assumption, the flux of energy required for the origin of a self-duplicating cell is taken as the power required for the maintenance of a modern cell: 10 mW per g of carbon or some 105 times the output per gram of the sun. Solar photochemistry supplies the energy for the continuing evolution of life and, by continuity, for its origin. The iron oxide-sulfide photosynthetic unit proposed by S. Granick 35 years ago was meant to supply this energy. The evolution of complex organic photosensitizers is rationalized by the Granick hypothesis that biosynthetic pathways recapitulate their evolution. These concepts are discussed in the context of the evolution of photosynthetic systems and the known properties of these pigments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beale SI and Weinstein JD (1990) Tetrapyrrole metabolism in photosynthetic organisms. In: Dailey HA (ed) Biosynthesis of Heme and Chlorophyll, pp 287–434. McGraw-Hill, New York
Borowska Z and Mauzerall D (1987) Efficient near ultraviolet light induced formation of hydrogen by ferrous hydroxide. Origins of Life 17: 251–259
Broda E (1975) The Evolution of the Bioenergetic Processes. Pergamon Press, Oxford
deDuve C and Miller S (1991) Two-dimensional life? Proc Natl Acad Sci 88: 10014–10017
Drain CM, Christensen B and Mauzerall D (1989) Photogating of ionic currents across the lipid bilayer. Proc Natl Acad Sci 86: 6959–6962
Fuhrhop J and Mauzerall D (1969) The one-electron oxidation of metalloporphyrins. Am Chem Soc 91: 4174–4181
Granick S (1957) Speculations on the origin and evolution of photosynthesis. Ann NY Acad Sci 69: 292–308
Granick S (1965) Evolution of Heme and Chlorophyll. In: Bryson V and Vogel HJ (eds) Evolving Genes and Proteins. Academic Press, New York
Horowitz NH (1945) On the evolution of biochemical synthesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci 31: 153–157
Mauzerall D (1960) The condensation of porphobilinogen to uroporphyrinogen. J Am Chem Soc 82: 2605–2609
Mauzerall D (1978) Electron transfer photoreactions of porphyrins. In: Dolphin D (ed) The Porphyrins, Vol 5, Part C, pp 29–52. Academic Press, New York
Mauzerall D (1979) Photoinduced electron transfer at the water-lipid bilayer interface. Life Sci Res Rep 12: 241–257
Mauzerall D (1990) The photochemical origins of life and photoreaction of ferrous ion in the Archaean Oceans. Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 20: 293–302
Mercer-Smith J and Mauzerall D (1984) Photochemistry of porphyrins: A model for the origin of photosynthesis. Photochem Photobiol 39: 397–405
Miller SL (1953) A production of amino acids under possible primitive earth conditions. Science 117: 528–529
Miller SL and Orgel LE (1973) The Origins of Life. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Mortenson LE, Valentine RC and Carnahan JE (1962) An electron transport factor from Clostridium pasteurianum. Biochim Biophys Res Commun 7: 448
Oparin AI (1957) The Origin of Life on the Earth (3rd ed) Academic Press, New York
Pecorara V (1988) Structural proposals for the manganese centers of the oxygen evolving complex: An inorganic chemist's perspective. Photochem Photobiol 48: 249–264
Schopf JW (ed) (1983) Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origin and Evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Schrauzer GN and Guth TD (1976) The formation of H2 from aqueous suspensions of Fe(OH)2 and reactions with reducible substrates, including molecular nitrogen. J Am Chem Soc 98: 3508–3513
Shapiro R (1986) Origins, A Skeptic's Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth. Summit Books, New York
Tagawa K and Arnon DI (1962) Ferredoxins as electron carriers in photosynthesis and in the biological production and consumption of hydrogen gas. Nature 195: 537
Thaxton CB, Bradley WL and Olsen RL (1984) The Mystery of Life's Origin: Reassessing Current Theories. Philosophical Library, New York
Wachtershauser G (1988) Before enzymes and templates: theory of surface metabolism. Microbiol Rev 52: 452–484
Woodle M, Zhang JW and Mauzerall D (1987) Kinetics of charge transfer at the lipid bilayer-water interface on the nanosecond time scale. Biophys J 52: 577–586
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mauzerall, D. Light, iron, Sam Granick and the origin of life. Photosynth Res 33, 163–170 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00039178
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00039178