ArticleNature communications2021
A physicochemical orthophosphate cycle via a kinetically stable thermodynamically activated intermediate enables mild prebiotic phosphorylations.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Concurrent Phosphite Oxidation and Adenosine Phosphorylation Under Prebiotic Evaporative Conditions.Journal of molecular evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- Chemical Routes to Primitive Membranes: Prebiotic Lipid Formation at the Origin of Life.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Theory for sequence selection via phase separation and oligomerization.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Complex and Messy Prebiotic Chemistry: Obstacles and Opportunities for an RNA World.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Magmatic immiscibility provides phosphate for prebiotic chemistry.Science advances · 2025Article
- A scope of prebiotic neat reaction conditions and the mechanism of urea-assisted phosphorylations of alcohols.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Thermal Decomposition and Prebiotic Formation of Adenosine Phosphates in Simulated Early-Earth Evaporative Settings.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- From Amino Acids to α-Keto Acids via β-Elimination and Transamination Initiates a Pathway to Prebiotic Reaction Networks.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2025Article
- Direct conversion of various phosphate sources to a versatile P-X reagent [TBA][PONature communications · 2025Article
- Heat flows solubilize apatite to boost phosphate availability for prebiotic chemistry.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Pinpointing Conditions for a Metabolic Origin of Life: Underlying Mechanisms and the Role of Coenzymes.Accounts of chemical research · 2024Article
- How Droplets Can Accelerate Reactions─Coacervate Protocells as Catalytic Microcompartments.Accounts of chemical research · 2024Article
- Active droplets through enzyme-free, dynamic phosphorylation.Nature communications · 2024Article
- A Prebiotic Precursor to Life's Phosphate Transfer System with an ATP Analog and Histidyl Peptide Organocatalysts.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024Article
- Nonequilibrium Wet-Dry Cycling Acts as a Catalyst for Chemical Reactions.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2024Article
- A single phosphorylation mechanism in early metabolism - the case of phosphoenolpyruvate.Chemical science · 2023Article
- Ring Opening of Glycerol Cyclic Phosphates Leads to a Diverse Array of Potentially Prebiotic Phospholipids.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023Article
- On the Emergence of Autonomous Chemical Systems through Dissipation Kinetics.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Dynamic Environmental Conditions Affect the Composition of a Model Prebiotic Reaction Network.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The incorporation of orthophosphate from scarce geochemical sources into the organic compounds essential for life under mild conditions is a fundamental challenge for prebiotic chemistry. Here we report a prebiotic system capable of overcoming this challenge by taking inspiration from extant life's recycling of orthophosphate via its conversion into kinetically stable thermodynamically activated (KSTA) nucleotide triphosphates (e.g. ATP). We separate the activation of orthophosphate from its transfer to organic compounds by, crucially, first accumulating a KSTA phosphoramidate. We use cyanate to activate orthophosphate in aqueous solution under mild conditions and then react it with imidazole to accumulate the KSTA imidazole phosphate. In a paste, imidazole phosphate phosphorylates all the essential building blocks of life. Integration of this chemistry into a wet/dry cycle enables the continuous recycling of orthophosphate and the accretion of phosphorylated compounds. This system functions even at low reagent concentrations due to solutes concentrating during evaporation. Our system demonstrates a general strategy for how to maximise the usage of scarce resources based upon cycles which accumulate and then release activated intermediates.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.