Redox and pH gradients drive amino acid synthesis in iron oxyhydroxide mineral systems
Open accessAbstract
Significance: Amino acids are formed from simple organic precursors in iron oxyhydroxide mineral systems that contain geochemical gradients. Redox and pH gradients significantly impact reaction pathways: Amino acids only form when the mineral contains both oxidized and reduced iron, and when the surrounding solution is alkaline. This shows that aqueous, partially reducing iron mineral systems (which would have been common in early-Earth seafloor/vent environments) could have facilitated synthesis and concentration of prebiotic organic molecules relevant for the emergence of life. It also suggests that geochemical gradients in vent environments can drive product selectivity for prebiotic chemistry, perhaps leading to more complex organic reaction systems as these molecules continue to diffuse and react under different conditions within the gradients.
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Hydroxy acids are equally as prebiotically plausible as amino acids, as they may be produced in the same model prebiotic reactions that produce amino acids and are also common in meteorites.
“Hydroxy acids are equally as prebiotically plausible as amino acids, as hydroxy acids may be produced in the same model prebiotic reactions that produce amino acids [56,57], and are also common in meteorites [58].”
From Polyesters as a Model System for Building Primitive Biologies from Non-Biological Prebiotic Chemistry (2020) · cites this paper as [56]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Barge, L. M., Flores, E., Baum, M. M., VanderVelde, D. G., & Russell, M. J.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Oak Crest Institute of Science (US)
- Corresponding author
- Barge, Laura M.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2019-02-25
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 4828-4833
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC6421445
- OpenAlex
- W2917196427
- Cited by
- 203
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 14.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- NASA Astrobiology Institute
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
- Keywords
- amino acid synthesis, iron oxyhydroxide, redox gradients, pH gradient, prebiotic chemistry, origin of life, early Earth, hydrothermal vents, geochemical gradients, product selectivity
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