The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Why Nature Chose Phosphates
Abstract
Phosphate esters and anhydrides dominate the living world but are seldom used as intermediates by organic chemists. Phosphoric acid is specially adapted for its role in nucleic acids because it can link two nucleotides and still ionize; the resulting negative charge serves both to stabilize the diesters against hydrolysis and to retain the molecules within a lipid membrane. A similar explanation for stability and retention also holds for phosphates that are intermediary metabolites and for phosphates that serve as energy sources. Phosphates with multiple negative charges can react by way of the monomeric metaphosphate ion PO 3 - as an intermediate. No other residue appears to fulfill the multiple roles of phosphate in biochemistry. Stable, negatively charged phosphates react under catalysis by enzymes; organic chemists, who can only rarely use enzymatic catalysis for their reactions, need more highly reactive intermediates than phosphates.
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“Magnesium which is frequently closely associated with phosphates and phosphate esters is an important metal in RNA metallobiochemistry (Gonzalez and Tinoco 2001) and an important player in the origins of life (Petrov et al. 2011;Westheimer 1987).”
From The Emergence of Life (2019) · cites this paper as Westheimer 1987
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Metadata
- Authors
- Westheimer, F. H.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Westheimer, F. H.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1987-03-06
- Volume
- 235
- Issue
- 4793
- Pages
- 1173-1178
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2064761203
- Semantic Scholar
- 5ca074c6259fad7d448fb8587c394e507dd3ee19
- Cited by
- 1,711
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 75 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 80 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 71 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 84 · 2014: 69 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 65
- FWCI
- 14.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Physical Organic Chemistry and Reaction Kinetics
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Organophosphorus compounds synthesis
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Keywords
- phosphate, phosphoric acid, nucleic acids, energy storage, enzyme catalysis
- MeSH terms
- Amides, Animals, Arsenates, Chemistry, Citrates, Electrochemistry, Humans, Hydrolysis, Ions, Nucleic Acids, Phosphates, RNA, Silicic Acid, Citric Acid, Chemical Phenomena
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