5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
[MIS07-P04] Primordial group transfer potential: Exploring the chemistry of thioacetate
Keywords:Origin of life, Thioesters, Chemical potential, Bioenergetics, Sulfide, Prebiotic metabolism
All life requires energy, but the form of energy used in the earliest life remains unknown. While thioesters have been proposed to have been relevant molecules with high group transfer potential, thioacetate is simpler since it requires only carbonyl group and sulfide, rather than a carbonyl and a thiol.
Here I’ll present new results showing an interplay between thioesters and thioacids. We observed rapid thiolysis of thioesters with sulfide suggesting that thioacids – not thioesters – may have been early and abundant energy contenders.
The rates of both hydrolysis and thiolysis are dependent on pH: the dominant chemical species are unique at each pH, which suggests that the role of thioacetate could be different according to the pH of surrounding environments. We can draw different models how thioacetate could contribute to prebiotic metabolic networks for each pH, each possible sites for the origin of life.
Here I’ll present new results showing an interplay between thioesters and thioacids. We observed rapid thiolysis of thioesters with sulfide suggesting that thioacids – not thioesters – may have been early and abundant energy contenders.
The rates of both hydrolysis and thiolysis are dependent on pH: the dominant chemical species are unique at each pH, which suggests that the role of thioacetate could be different according to the pH of surrounding environments. We can draw different models how thioacetate could contribute to prebiotic metabolic networks for each pH, each possible sites for the origin of life.