Stability of Amino Acids and Related Compounds in Simulated Submarine Hydrothermal Systems

• Kurihara Hironari

  Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University

• Takano Yoshinori

  Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

• Kaneko Takeo

  Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University

• Obayashi Yumiko

  Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University

• Kobayashi Kensei

  Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University

Abstract

Submarine hydrothermal systems (SHSs) have been thought of as a suitable environment for the origin of life subsequent to the abiotic synthesis of organic molecules. However, it has been pointed out that bioorganic molecules, such as amino acids, are easily degraded at a high temperature, and thus not likely to survive for the next step of chemical evolution in a SHS environment. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the main compounds generated abiotically at the first stage of chemical evolution are not “free” amino acid monomers but amino acid precursors with high molecular weights, i.e., complex combined amino acids. In this study, we tested the stability of complex combined amino acids, which were abiotically synthesized from a simulated primitive Earth atmosphere with proton irradiation, in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment compared with that of monomeric amino acids. Complex combined amino acids preserved more amino acids (including amino acid precursors that give amino acids after acid hydrolysis) than free amino acids after heating in simulated SHS environments. Our results suggest the possibility that complex organics prebiotically synthesized by cosmic rays could serve as primitive materials of chemical evolution at hydrothermal systems on primitive Earth.

Journal

• Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan

  Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan 85 (5), 624-630, 2012

  The Chemical Society of Japan

Keywords

• General Chemistry

Details

• CRID: 1390282679119485824
• NII Article ID: 130004153067
• NII Article ID: 10030619033
• NII Book ID: AA00580132
• DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.20110349
• COI: 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC38XnvFKltLc%3D
• ISSN: 13480634
• ISSN: 00092673
• NDL BIB ID: 023619507
• Web Site: http://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/023619507
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I023619507
• Web Site: https://academic.oup.com/bcsj/article-pdf/85/5/624/56273974/bcsj.20110349.pdf
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed