Genesis - In The Beginning pp 469-489 | Cite as
The Origin of First Peptides on Earth: From Amino Acids to Homochiral Biomolecules
Abstract
From general considerations about the formation of first biomolecules in a primordial Earth scenario, it is concluded that amino acids, peptides and proteins are the compounds with the highest probability to be formed first. Consequently, possible formation reactions for these compounds and related simulation experiments are presented, in particular Miller-type experiments for the synthesis of amino acids and condensation reactions leading to peptides. Among the latter, especially the salt-induced peptide formation (SIPF) reaction is discussed, as it is based on a very simple and variable scenario, and offers a number of explanations for phenomena still observed in present life forms. This pertains to non-statistical amino acid sequences, the type of preferably used amino acids and to the l-homochirality of proteins in all life forms on Earth.
Keywords
Chemical Evolution Enantiomeric Excess Parity Violation Carbonaceous Chondrite Sodium Chloride ConcentrationNotes
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Foundation (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Projekt P19334-N17), which is gratefully appreciated.
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