Geochemical and Thermodynamic Constraints on the Chemical Interaction of Biomolecules and Minerals in Hydrothermal Systems

本研究项目主要研究来自超嗜热微生物的矿物与水溶酶、核苷酸、核酸和其他生物大分子的相对稳定性及其在水热系统中的化学相互作用。总体假设是，经典高温溶液化学和可逆和不可逆化学热力学可以用来表征和量化热液系统中有机-无机界面上矿物和生物大分子之间的反应。所采用的方法包括热力学计算和计算机实验，这些方法将用于定量表征热液系统中的生物化学-矿物界面。所提出的活动的智力价值在于提高我们对化学和热力学因素的理解，这些因素负责在矿物生物大分子存在的情况下稳定热液系统中的生命。由于它本质上是高度跨学科的，该项目不仅将促进地球化学领域的知识和理解，还将促进生物物理化学、生物技术和相关学科领域的知识和理解。要探索的创造性和原创性概念包括首次应用热力学来量化高温下生物大分子的相对稳定性，以及与维持热液系统中微生物生命的矿物质进行可逆和不可逆生物分子反应的后果。拟议研究的更广泛影响包括整合研究和教育，促进对高温下生命的化学和热力学支持系统的发现和理解，同时促进学生对地球上生命可能起源于的环境的教学、培训和学习。此外，该项目将整合和加强科学和技术界的研究和教育基础设施，将项目中所考虑的物质和反应的所有热力学性质和状态参数方程发布在网络上。拟议的研究对社会的潜在好处包括将研究结果应用于生物技术，以开发更有效的酶促药物设计方案。

HelgesonEAR-0309829This research project is concerned with the relative stabilities and chemical interaction in hydrothermal systems of minerals and aqueous enzymes, nucleotides, nucleic acids and other biomacromolecules derived from hyperthermophilic microbes. The overall hypothesis is that classical high-temperature solution chemistry and reversible and irreversible chemical thermodynamics can be used to characterize and quantify reactions among minerals and biomacromolecules at the organic-inorganic interface in hydrothermal systems. The methods to be employed consist of thermodynamic calculations and computer experiments which will be carried out to characterize quantitatively the biochemical-mineralogic interface in hydrothermal systems. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity is inherent in the goal to improve our understanding of the chemical and thermodynamic factors responsible for stabilizing in the presence of minerals biomacromolecules and therefore life in hydrothermal systems. Because it is highly interdisciplinary in nature, the project will advance knowledge and understanding not only within the field of geochemistry, but also across the fields of biophysical chemistry, biotechnology, and related disciplines. The creative and original concepts to be explored include application of thermodynamics to quantify for the first time the relative stabilities of biomacromolecules at high temperatures and the consequences of reversible and irreversible biomolecular reactions with minerals that sustain microbial life in hydrothermal systems. The broader impacts of the proposed research include integrating research and education by advancing discovery and understanding of the chemical and thermodynamic support system for life at high temperatures while promoting teaching, training, and learning by students about the environment in which life may have originated on the Earth. In addition, the project will integrate and enhance the infrastructure for research and education in the scientific and technological communities by posting on the Web all of the thermodynamic properties and equations of state parameters generated for the species and reactions considered in the project. The potential benefits of the proposed research to society include application in biotechnology of the results of the research to develop more efficient protocols for enzymatic drug design.