Primordial Ocean Chemistry and its Compatibility with the RNA World
Abstract
We examine the stability of three key components needed to establish an RNA World under a range of potential conditions present on the early earth. The stability of ribose, cytosine, and the phosphodiester bond are estimated at different pH values and temperatures by extrapolating available experimental data. The conditions we have chosen range from highly acidic or alkaline hydrothermal vents, to the milder conditions in a primordial ocean at a range of atmospheric CO(2) partial pressures.
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Above 0°C, nucleotides hydrolyze quickly, making their accumulation hard in a hot-start scenario.
“The rapid rates of hydrolysis of nucleotides at temperatures above 0 degrees C would make accumulation of these nucleotides difficult in a hot-start scenario (Kua and Bada 2011;Levy and Miller 1998;Kawamura et al. 2005).”
From Environmental Adaptation from the Origin of Life to the Last Universal Common Ancestor (2018) · cites this paper as Kua and Bada 2011
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- Authors
- Kua, J., & Bada, J. L.
- Affiliations
- University of San Diego (US)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kua, Jeremy
- Venue
- Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 553-558
- ISSN
- 0169-6149 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-0875
- OpenAlex
- W2162607380
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Division of Chemistry
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Keywords
- RNA world, early Earth conditions, pH effect, temperature effects, hydrothermal vents, prebiotic chemistry
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Cytosine, Half-Life, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Models, Chemical, Oceans and Seas, Ribose, RNA, Temperature, Evolution, Planetary
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