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A Causal Model of Biochemical Essentiality

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Chemical Elements in Plant and Soil: Parameters Controlling Essentiality

Part of the book series: Tasks for Vegetation Science ((TAVS,volume 45))

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Abstract

So it might (have proven to) be useful during evolution to increase the number of essential components, while the separation of the ancestors of animals and higher plants took place only after formation of metazoans, and even though the number of possibly essential (chemically suitable and sufficiently abundant) elements is limited to about 40 at best, the rule of three functions produces another limit as it also holds for molecular “vitamins”, of course. The result will be some optimum function for the number of essential elements vs. histological complexity (and animals tend to use more different elements than plants, fungi or bacteria) which accordingly tends to be a smooth, steady one. Presumably this is why earthly organisms did not evolve into metazoans for most of the time of biological evolution, even much after oxygen did accumulate in the atmosphere. If so, the group of organisms forming the original basis of the Biological System of Elements – vascular plants and some mosses – had to be considered atypical, however. On the other hand, as the results reported here come directly from chemical physics pertinent to any kind of reproducing system, they will apply to any kind of living being, not just photoautotrophic metazoans.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See the controversy about inferred formation of and intoxication by stibane SbH3 purportedly produced by fungi in moist matraces (Emsley 2001; Thayer 1995) which was related to cot death syndrome (SIDS): in fact, SbH3 simply does not form in these circumstances.

  2. 2.

    For esters EL(L)R´-COOR can be estimated from charge change effects due to (de-)protonation and H/alkyl similarity for uncoordinated substituents (cp. amines):

    EL(L)R´-COOR ≈ EL(L)R´-COOH ≈ EL(L)R´-COO- + 0.5 V, that is, about +0.3 V (somewhat less than for nitriles).

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  1. Internationales Hochschulinstitut Zittau, Markt 23, Zittau, Germany

    Stefan Fränzle

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Fränzle, S. (2010). A Causal Model of Biochemical Essentiality. In: Chemical Elements in Plant and Soil: Parameters Controlling Essentiality. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 45. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2752-8_3

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