10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
[U08-P04] Electrochemical synthesis and conversion of glyoxylate: Implications for the autotrophic origin of life
Keywords:Astrobiology, Protometabolism, Origin of life
Glyoxylate, among the important intermediates of biological metabolism, has been suggested to have contributed deeply to the origin of life as an essential carbon source in protometabolism. However, the prebiotic mechanism of glyoxylate formation remains unknown. Here I demonstrate an efficient glyoxylate production from oxalate under a simulated geoelectrochemical condition in primordial hydrothermal vent environments. Lead sulfide (PbS) catalyzes the reaction at acidic pH (~1.3), where oxalic acid is in a protonated state. At neutral pH, glyoxylate is converted to tartaric acid through dimerization and the subsequent electroreduction. Tartaric acid might have served as an important intermediate for protometabolism. Based on these results, this presentation discusses hydrothermal vent environments favorable for the origin of life.