Keywords:
Electronic books.
Description / Table of Contents:
This is a textbook covering the transition from energy releasing reactions on the early Earth to energy releasing reactions that fueled growth in the first microbial cells. It is for teachers and college students with an interest in microbiology, geosciences, biochemistry, evolution, or all of the above.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
Pages:
1 online resource (249 pages)
Edition:
1st ed.
ISBN:
9781003859536
URL:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/geomar/detail.action?docID=31338322
DDC:
579.3
Language:
English
Note:
Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- About the Authors -- Chapter 1 The Early Earth Setting and Chemical Fundamentals -- 1.1 Stars, Planets, and Chemical Elements Set the Stage for Life -- 1.1.1 The Big Bang Theory Describes the Origin of the Universe -- 1.1.2 The Earth Formed Under the Force of Gravity by Accretion -- 1.1.3 Earth's Water Stems from Accretion and Comets from the Outer Solar System -- 1.1.4 Heat Radiation Cooled the Upper Mantle -- 1.1.5 The Moon-Forming Impact Transformed Carbon and Nitrogen into CO2 and N2 -- 1.1.6 The Late Heavy Bombardment Might or Might Not Have Taken Place -- 1.1.7 Volcanic Activity and Hydrothermal Sources Were Abundant at the End of the Hadean Era -- 1.1.8 Geological Ages Are Obtained from Radiometric Dating -- 1.1.9 The Internal Structure of the Earth Is Revealed by Seismic Waves -- 1.2 Chemistry Describes the Properties of Atoms and Molecules -- 1.2.1 Covalent and Noncovalent Bonds Determine the Structure and Stability of Molecules -- 1.2.2 A Few Functional Groups Account for Most of the Properties of Biomolecules -- 1.2.3 Acid-Base Reactions, Redox Reactions, and Nucleophilic Attacks Are Central to Biochemistry -- 1.2.4 Hydrolysis Can Facilitate or Hinder the Synthesis of Bioorganic Molecules -- 1.2.5 Thermodynamics Determine Whether a Chemical Process Can or Cannot Take Place -- 1.2.6 Kinetics Indicate How Fast a Given Process Proceeds -- 1.2.7 Transition Metals Activate Inert Gases Like H2 and CO2 and Catalyze Chemical Reactions -- 1.3 Life Developed from Abiotically Synthesized Organic Molecules -- 1.3.1 Life's Emergence Required Energy, C, H, N, O, Catalysts, and Concentrating Mechanisms -- 1.3.2 Organic Molecules Were Synthesized by Geochemical Processes in the Earth's Crust.
,
1.3.3 Carbon-Rich Meteorites Contain Mostly Unreactive Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons -- 1.3.4 Hydrogen-Producing Hydrothermal Systems Could Have Been Sites for Abiogenesis -- 1.3.5 Weighing Evidence for the Age of Life -- 1.3.6 The "Hydrolysis Problem" and the Notion of Terrestrial Hydrothermal Ponds -- 1.3.7 Several Forms of Water-Soluble Phosphates and Sulfides Exist -- 1.3.8 High Energy Carbon Bonds React with Sulfur and Phosphate -- 1.4 Chapter Summary -- Chapter 2 Origin of Organic Molecules -- 2.1 Carbon Dioxide Reacts with H2 to Generate Organic Compounds -- 2.1.1 CO2 Is the Main Prebiotic Source of Carbon -- It Reacts with H2 on Metal Catalysts -- 2.2 Serpentinization Generates H2 from Reactions of Rocks with Water -- 2.2.1 Serpentinization Reactions in Hydrothermal Systems Generate H2 -- 2.2.2 Olivine Is a Very Common and Widespread Component of the Earth's Crust -- 2.2.3 Serpentinization Can Be Directly Observed in Real Time by Laser Raman Microscopy -- 2.2.4 Geochemical Homeostasis: The Rate of Serpentinization Is Regulated by Water Salinity -- 2.2.5 H2 from Serpentinization Reduces Ni2+ and Fe2+ Ions and S Inside Hydrated Olivine Pores -- 2.3 Reduction of CO2 with H2 Is Facile with Transition Metal Catalysts -- 2.3.1 Transition Metals Convert H2+ CO2 to Pyruvate, the Central Molecule of Metabolism -- 2.3.2 Molecular Nitrogen, N2, Can Be Reduced with H2 to NH3 by Transition Metal Catalysts -- 2.4 Carbon and Nitrogen Fixation Depend on Transfer of High-Energy Electrons -- 2.4.1 Electrons Can Be Shared between Atoms (Covalent Bonds) or Transferred (Redox Reactions) -- 2.4.2 Redox Reactions Are Essential to Life -- 2.4.3 The Electron Energy in Atoms and Molecules Is Measured as Redox Potential -- 2.4.4 Redox Potential Depends on Concentration, Temperature, and Acidity.
,
2.4.5 The Free Enthalpy of a Redox Reaction Can Be Calculated from the Redox Potentials -- 2.5 Chapter Summary -- Chapter 3 Primordial Reaction Networks and Energy Metabolism -- 3.1 Transition Metals Bind and Activate Molecules to Metal Bound Fragments -- 3.1.1 There Are Six Modern CO2 Fixation Pathways -- 3.1.2 The Acetyl-CoA Pathway Is the Only Exergonic Pathway of CO2 Fixation -- 3.1.3 CO2 Reduction with H2 on Transition Metal Catalysts in Water Generates Acetyl Groups -- 3.1.4 Thioacetate Reacts with Phosphate to Acetyl Phosphate, Which Can Phosphorylate ADP -- 3.1.5 Catalysis Is Essential to Increase Reaction Rates -- 3.1.6 Metal Catalysis on Surfaces Generates Products of Nonenzymatic Carbon Fixation -- 3.1.7 Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions Generate Universal Metabolic Precursors -- 3.1.8 Organic Catalysts: The Functions of Cofactors -- 3.2 Separation, Accumulation, and Autocatalysis Generate Reaction Networks -- 3.2.1 Molecules Accumulate in Mineral Pores and Channels by Convection and Thermodiffusion -- 3.2.2 Complex Solutions Can Be Chromatographically Separated on Mineral Surfaces and Pores -- 3.2.3 Mass Transport and Surface Interactions Remove Products and Counteract Back Reactions -- 3.2.4 Some Reaction Products Can Catalyze Their Own Synthesis -- 3.2.5 Autocatalytic Reaction Networks Lead to Reproducible Molecular Organization Processes -- 3.3 Scaling Up to the Reaction Networks of a Cell -- 3.3.1 Cells Are About 50-60% Protein by Weight -- 3.3.2 A Balance between Carbon and Energy in the Chemical Reaction of Life -- 3.3.3 Reconstructing the Last Universal Common Ancestor LUCA from Genomes -- 3.3.4 No RNA World? -- 3.3.5 All Roads Start with Pyruvate -- 3.4 Chapter Summary -- Chapter 4 Prebiotic Synthesis of Monomers and Polymers -- 4.1 Amino Acids Were Synthesized by Reductive Amination of α-Ketoacids.
,
4.1.1 Intermediates of the TCA Cycle React with Activated NH3 and H2 to Amino Acids -- 4.2 Peptides Were Synthesized by Condensation of Activated Amino Acids -- 4.2.1 Activated Amino Acids Condense in Water to Short Peptides of Random Sequence -- 4.2.2 Activated Peptides Are Less Sensitive to Hydrolysis Than Activated Amino Acids -- 4.2.3 Water Activity in Salt Solutions Affects Peptide Structure -- 4.2.4 Homochiral Amino Acids Form Stable α-Helices and β-Sheets in Salt Solution -- 4.2.5 Inorganic Micropores Are Possible Precursors of Biological Cells -- 4.3 Peptides Stabilized Early Autocatalytic Networks via Catalysis -- 4.3.1 Random Peptides with Suitable Ligands Can Coordinate Transition Metals for Catalysis -- 4.3.2 Biofilms of Tar-Like Polymers Covered Hydrothermal Rock with Hydrophobic Layer -- 4.4 Sugars and Ribose Originated via Autotrophic Routes and Cyclization -- 4.4.1 Aldehydes or Ketones from Pyruvate Undergo Nucleophilic Attack of Their C=O Group -- 4.5 RNA Nucleosides Can Be Synthesized from Amino Acids by Heating -- 4.5.1 In Metabolism, Nucleotides Are Formed by Condensation of Ribose with Amino Acids -- 4.5.2 Amino Acid Cyclization Reactions to Nucleobases Involves Transition Metal Catalysis -- 4.6 Cyanide Condensations Generate RNA Bases via Non-biomimetic Routes -- 4.6.1 Carbon- and Nitrogen-Rich Magma Might Have Produced Cyanide and Cyanoacetylene -- 4.6.2 The Fe2+ Catalyzed Reaction of C2HCN with NH3, Ribose, and Phosphate Yields Nucleotides -- 4.7 Activated RNA-Monomers Condense to Polymers with Random Sequence -- 4.7.1 Thermophoresis in Hydrothermal Pores Accumulates Nucleotides and RNA Strands -- 4.7.2 Heated Gas Bubbles Inside Hydrothermal Pores Can Phosphorylate Nucleosides -- 4.7.3 Ribonucleotide Triphosphates React in Water to Short RNA Strands and Pyrophosphate.
,
4.7.4 Activated RNA Strands Can Diffuse into Clay Minerals and Condense to Longer Strands -- 4.7.5 Thermal and pH Gradients Can Drive Cyclic RNA Replication -- 4.7.6 Single-Strand RNA Folds to Hairpins by Hydrogen Bonding of Complementary Bases -- 4.8 RNA Can Catalyze Diverse Chemical Transformations, but Not Redox Reactions -- 4.8.1 In Vitro Selected Ribozymes Can Perform Many Enzymatic Tasks -- 4.8.2 Selection of Ribozymes from A Random RNA Pool Requires Very Special Conditions -- 4.9 Chapter Summary -- Chapter 5 Template-Directed Synthesis of Polymers -- 5.1 Darwinian-Type Evolution Required Replication of Informational Polymers -- 5.1.1 Biologically Active Peptides Can Be Synthesized on Protein Templates without RNA -- 5.1.2 Nonribosomal Protein Synthesis (NRPS) Was a Possible Precursor to Translation -- 5.1.3 RNA-Independent Peptide Synthesis Could Promote the Origin of Complexity -- 5.2 The Origin of RNA-Template-Directed Peptide Synthesis Is Still Unresolved -- 5.2.1 Translation on Ribosomes Is Perhaps the Most Complex Process Chemistry Ever Invented -- 5.2.2 Scenario I: Peptides and Predecessors of Nucleic Acids Are Synthesized Synchronously -- 5.2.3 Scenario II: Amino Acids Covalently Bind to Nucleobases of RNA Strands and Polymerize -- 5.2.4 Scenario III: The RNA Activators of Amino Acids Couple to RNA-Collector Hairpins -- 5.2.5 Scenario IV: AARS Urzymes Acylate tRNA Acceptor Stems Specifically -- 5.2.6 The Genetic Code Might Contain Evidence for Its Origin -- 5.3 Modified Bases in tRNA and rRNA -- 5.3.1 The Ribosome and the Genetic Code Requires Modified Bases to Operate -- 5.3.2 The Code Reflects Ancient Processes -- 5.3.3 Translation Emerged from Environmentally Synthesized Components -- 5.4 Activated RNA Strands Can Readily Recombine with Other RNA Molecules.
,
5.4.1 Recombination between RNA Molecules Could Have Accelerated Information Processing.
Permalink
