CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 484Origins and Evolution of LifeCatalysts for Methane ReformingPaleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 54 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Lipid synthesis under hydrothermal conditions by Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions

McCollom, Thomas M., Ritter, Gilles, Simoneit, Bernd R. T.·1999·Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
DOI 10.1023/a:1006592502746
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Ever since their discovery in the late 1970's, mid-ocean-ridge hydrothermal systems have received a great deal of attention as a possible site for the origin of life on Earth (and environments analogous to mid-ocean-ridge hydrothermal systems are postulated to have been sites where life could have originated or Mars and elsewhere as well). Because no modern-day terrestrial hydrothermal systems are free from the influence of organic compounds derived from biologic processes, laboratory experiments provide the best opportunity for confirmation of the potential for organic synthesis in hydrothermal systems. Here we report on the formation of lipid compounds during Fischer-Tropsch-type synthesis from aqueous solutions of formic acid or oxalic acid. Optimum synthesis occurs in stainless steel vessels by heating at 175 degrees C for 2-3 days and produces lipid compounds ranging from C2 to > C35 which consist of n-alkanols, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkenes, n-alkanes and alkanones. The precursor carbon sources used are either formic acid or oxalic acid, which disproportionate to H2, CO2 and probably CO. Both carbon sources yield the same lipid classes with essentially the same ranges of compounds. The synthesis reactions were confirmed by using 13C labeled precursor acids.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1023/a:1006592502746

Cites

54 of 54 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • McCollom et al. and Rushdi and Simoneit have shown that a series of carboxylic acids and alcohols are synthesized when formic or oxalic acid solutions are heated under pressure and temperature regimes characteristic of hydrothermal conditions associated with volcanism.

    “It seems unlikely that such an iron-catalyzed reaction could occur in the prebiotic conditions, but McCollom et al. [59] and Rushdi and Simoneit [60] have shown that a series of carboxylic acids and alcohols are synthesized when formic or oxalic acid solutions are heated under pressure and temperature regimes characteristic of hydrothermal conditions associated with volcanism.”

    From The Role of Lipid Membranes in Life’s Origin (2017) · cites this paper as [59]

  • When the temperature exceeded 150 °C, oxalic acid decomposed into carbon monoxide and water which then polymerized into hydrocarbon derivatives ranging from 12 to 33 carbons in length.

    “Remarkably, when the temperature exceeded 150 °C the oxalic acid decomposed into carbon monoxide and water which then polymerized into hydrocarbon derivatives ranging from 12 to 33 carbons in length.”

    From The Role of Lipid Membranes in Life’s Origin (2017) · cites this paper as [59]

  • Amphiphiles are also synthesized by photochemical reactions and are products of Fischer-Tropsch type reactions that may occur in volcanic geochemistry.

    “Amphiphiles are also synthesized by photochemical reactions (Dworkin et al., 2001) and are products of Fischer- Tropsch type reactions that may occur in volcanic geochemistry (McCollom et al., 1999; Rushdi and Simoneit, 2006).”

    From The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life (2020) · cites this paper as McCollom et al., 1999

  • The availability of amphiphiles with sufficiently long hydrophobic tails is amply substantiated, as is that of hydrophobic and amphiphilic peptides.

    “The availability of amphiphiles with sufficiently long hydrophobic tails is amply substantiated [168–171] as is that of hydrophobic and amphiphilic peptides [44,172].”

    From Systems protobiology: origin of life in lipid catalytic networks (2018) · cites this paper as [169]

  • There is good experimental evidence that long-chain fatty acids can be synthesized under plausible prebiotic conditions.

    “There is, in fact, good experimental evidence that long-chain fatty acids can be synthesized under plausible prebiotic conditions”

    From Natural pH Gradients in Hydrothermal Alkali Vents Were Unlikely to Have Played a Role in the Origin of Life (2016) · cites this paper as McCollom et al. 1999

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Berndt, M. E. and Seyfried, W. E., Jr.: 1997, Effect of olivine alteration and dissolution kinetics on the redox state of carbon and sulfur in the oceanic crust. AGU 1997 Fall Meeting, EOS 78(46), F773.
  2. Fischer, F.: 1935, Die Synthese der Treibstoffe (Kogasin) und Schmieröle aus Kohlenoxyd und Wasserstoff bei gewöhnlichem Druck. Brennstoff-Chemie 16, 1–11.
  3. Koch, H. and Gilfert, W.: 1955, Part of the work of H. Koch in: Carbonsäure Synthese aus Olefinen, Kohlenoxyd und Wasser, Brennstoff-Chemie 36, 321–352.
  4. Palmer, D. A., Weselowski, D. J. and Bell, J. L. S.: 1993, EMF measurements of oxalic and formic acid decomposition kinetics and interaction of acetate with aluminum (III) to high temperatures. EOS 74(16), 327–328.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Metadata

Authors
McCollom, T. M., Ritter, G., & Simoneit, B. R. T.
Affiliations
Oregon State University (US)
ORCID
McCollom, Thomas M.
Venue
Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
1999-03
Volume
29
Issue
2
Pages
153-166
ISSN
  • 0169-6149 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-0875
DOI
10.1023/a:1006592502746
OpenAlex
W1631795182
Cited by
475
References
53
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 18
FWCI
7.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Catalysis › Catalysts for Methane Reforming
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
Keywords
lipogenesis, hydrothermal systems, origin of life, formic acid, oxalic acid, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, n-alkanes, n-alkenes, alkanones, 13C labeling, stainless steel vessel
MeSH terms
Origin of Life, Formates, Hot Temperature, Lipids, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Oceans and Seas, Oxalic Acid

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review