A possible role of fluctuating clay-water systems in the production of ordered prebiotic oligomers
- 1 March 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Molecular Evolution
- Vol. 16 (1) , 11-21
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01732066
Abstract
A model is proposed for the intermediate stages of prebiotic evolution, based on the characteristics of the adsorption and condensation of amino acids and nucleotides on the surface area of clay minerals in a fluctuating environment. Template replication and translation of adsorbed oligonucleotides and catalytic effects by peptide products on further condensation are proposed, due to specific properties of hypohydrous clay surfaces as well as the biomolecules themselves. Experimental evidence supports some of the proposed interactions, and all of them can be tested experimentally.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- A theory for the origin of a self-replicating chemical system. I: Natural selection of the autogen from short, random oligomersJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1980
- Prebiotic nucleotide oligomerization in a fluctuating environment: Effects of kaolinite and cyanamideJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1979
- Early Chemical Evolution of Nucleic Acids: A Theoretical ModelScience, 1977
- The possible role of solid surface area in condensation reactions during chemical evolution: ReevaluationJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1976
- The prebiotic synthesis of deoxythymidine oligonucleotidesJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1976
- Simultaneous existence of different environments in aqueous clay systems and its possible role in prebiotic synthesisJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1975
- Prebiotic peptide-formation in the solid stateJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1975
- Soil and water and its relationship to the origin of lifeDiscover Life, 1975
- On the possible role of crystals in the origins of lifeJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1974
- Self‐Organization of Molecular Systems and Evolution of the Genetic ApparatusAngewandte Chemie International Edition in English, 1972