ORIGINS - Organic molecular generation of protocells on iron minerals

起源 - 在铁矿物上有机分子生成原始细胞

• 批准号: NE/Z000041/1
• 负责人: Jonathan Telling
• 金额: $ 113.29万
• 依托单位: Newcastle University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FZ000041%2F1
• 关键词: ORIGINS; Organic; molecular; generation; protocells

How life originated on our planet is one of the great unsolved scientific questions. While no rocks survive from this early in Earth's history, clues can be gained from scraps of evidence from biological 'fossils' still present in microorganisms today, a consideration of what early Earth environments were probably like, and by looking at similar environments on the modern Earth. Together the evidence is consistent with an origin of life at warm to hot (< 150 deg C) alkaline hydrothermal vents ('hot springs'), where iron-rich minerals helped react hydrogen gas from the hydrothermal vents and carbon dioxide from the oceans or surface water into the organic 'building blocks' of life. One problem, however, is that experiments trying to mimic this chemistry under relevant conditions have only formed very short organic molecules of 3 carbon atoms in length or less. These are too short to build the larger organic 'building blocks' of life; most importantly cell membranes essential for separating the cell (the basic unit of life) from outside water to allow the control of chemical gradients and later evolution of internal biochemistry.In ORIGINS we will build on exciting new experimental results from a pilot study at Newcastle University where we have formed long chains of organic molecules (including the building blocks of cell membranes) on iron-minerals under conditions mimicking the mixing of alkaline hydrothermal vent fluid with water at < 100 deg C. We will determine how different iron-minerals and water chemistries can form the key organic building blocks of early life. We will then aim to show how these organic building blocks can, given the right conditions, lift off the minerals and self-assemble into 'protocells'; membrane-bounded organic spheres with a strong resemblance to modern microbial cells; a key stepping-stone to life. Finally, we will take the first steps to test if these protocells can use metal-mineral clusters embedded within them to generate further organic molecules, grow, and replicate.ORIGINS will have impact on both Earth and beyond. Research will be linked to an outreach program in the NE of England, using interactive workshops to inspire school age children to continue with science-based subjects. ORIGINS will also aid the search for life elsewhere in our solar system. Icy moons such as Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus are thought to have similar alkaline hydrothermal vents at the bottom of their deep ice-covered oceans, and samples of them brought up by hydrothermal plumes to the moons' surfaces or expelled into space. We will link into the recently launched European Space Agency JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission, recently started on its eight year journey to explore Jupiter's icy moons. Samples of the organic molecules and protocells made in ORIGINS experiments will be used to test the ability of identical instruments to those on the JUICE spacecraft to detect organic molecules on the moons' surfaces prior to its arrival.

生命是如何在我们的星球上起源的，这是一个重大的悬而未决的科学问题。虽然在地球历史早期没有岩石幸存下来，但通过考虑早期地球环境可能是什么样子，以及通过观察现代地球上类似的环境，可以从至今仍存在于微生物中的生物化石的零星证据中获得线索。总而言之，这些证据与生命起源于温暖到高温(&lt；150℃)的碱性热液喷口(温泉)是一致的，在那里，富含铁的矿物帮助反应来自热液喷口的氢气和来自海洋或地表水的二氧化碳进入生命的有机“构件”。然而，一个问题是，试图在相关条件下模拟这种化学的实验只形成了长度不超过3个碳原子的非常短的有机分子。它们太短了，不能构成更大的有机生命单元；最重要的是，细胞膜对于将细胞(生命的基本单位)与外部水分离至关重要，以允许控制化学梯度和后来内部生物化学的进化。在起源方面，我们将建立在纽卡斯尔大学一项试点研究的令人兴奋的新实验结果的基础上，在该研究中，我们在模拟碱性热液喷口流体与水在100℃的混合的条件下，在铁矿物上形成了长链有机分子(包括细胞膜的构建块)。我们将确定不同的铁矿物和水化学如何形成早期生命的关键有机构建块。然后，我们将致力于展示这些有机构建块如何在适当的条件下，剥离矿物质并自组装成“原始细胞”；膜结合的有机球体，与现代微生物细胞非常相似；生命的关键踏脚石。最后，我们将采取第一步来测试这些原始细胞是否可以使用嵌入其中的金属-矿物团来产生更多的有机分子、生长和复制。ORIGINS将对地球和其他地方产生影响。研究将与英格兰东北部的一个推广计划联系起来，使用互动研讨会来激励学龄儿童继续学习以科学为基础的科目。起源也将有助于寻找我们太阳系其他地方的生命。木星的卫星木卫二和土星的卫星土卫二等冰冻卫星被认为在其深冰覆盖的海洋底部有类似的碱性热液喷口，它们的样本被热液羽流带到卫星表面或喷发到太空中。我们将连结到最近发射的欧洲航天局果汁(木星冰冻卫星探测器)任务，该任务最近开始了为期八年的探索木星冰冻卫星的旅程。在起源实验中制作的有机分子和原细胞样本将被用来测试与果汁航天器上的仪器相同的仪器在月球到达之前探测月球表面有机分子的能力。