Generation of long-chain fatty acids by hydrogen-driven bicarbonate reduction in ancient alkaline hydrothermal vents
Generation of long-chain fatty acids by hydrogen-driven bicarbonate reduction in ancient alkaline hydrothermal vents
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DOI：
10.1038/s43247-023-01196-4
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发表时间：
2024-01
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Graham Purvis;Lidija Šiller;Archie Crosskey;Jupiter Vincent;Corinne Wills;Jake Sheriff;Cijo Xavier;Jon Telling
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文献类型：
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作者：
Graham Purvis;Lidija Šiller;Archie Crosskey;Jupiter Vincent;Corinne Wills;Jake Sheriff;Cijo Xavier;Jon Telling
生命的起源需要膜结合的隔室，以允许内部生物化学与外部环境分离和浓缩，并建立能量利用离子梯度。长链两亲分子，例如脂肪酸，似乎是形成第一个细胞膜的有力候选分子，尽管它们最初是如何产生的仍不清楚。在这里，我们表明，在连续流动、碱性 pH 值和相对较低的温度 (90°C) 条件下，溶解的氢和碳酸氢盐与富含铁的矿物磁铁矿发生反应，生成一系列功能化的长链脂肪族化合物，包括长度高达 18 个碳原子的混合脂肪酸。在第一个细胞生命中，容易产生的成膜两亲性有机分子可能是由富含碳酸氢盐的水（与富含二氧化碳的大气平衡）与由地球富含铁的早期地壳的蛇纹石化作用供给的碱性富含氢的液体混合而产生的类似化学反应所驱动。
The origin of life required membrane-bound compartments to allow the separation and concentration of internal biochemistry from the external environment and establish energy-harnessing ion gradients. Long-chain amphiphilic molecules, such as fatty acids, appear strong candidates to have formed the first cell membranes although how they were first generated remains unclear. Here we show that the reaction of dissolved hydrogen and bicarbonate with the iron-rich mineral magnetite under conditions of continuous flow, alkaline pH and relatively low temperatures (90 °C) generate a range of functionalised long-chain aliphatic compounds, including mixed fatty acids up to 18 carbon atoms in length. Readily generated membrane-forming amphiphilic organic molecules in the first cellular life may have been driven by similar chemistry generated from the mixing of bicarbonate-rich water (equilibrated with a carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere) with alkaline hydrogen-rich fluids fed by the serpentinisation of the Earth’s iron-rich early crust.