The Possible Role of Cyclic Pentacoordinate Phosphorus Intermediates in the Origin and Evolution of Life. are Phosphoric Anhydride and Trimetaphosphates Prebiotic Reagents?

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Abstract

This mini-review shows that the origin and evolution of life might be governed by a chemical process in which the formation of cyclic pentacoordinated phosphorus intermediates is activated of a factor 10^6–8 over other similar collateral processes containing acyclic phosphorus compounds. It follows that primordial cyclic phosphorylating reagents such as phosphoric anhydride (P₄O₁₀), produced from volcano magma, and its natural derivative trimetaphosphates (TMP) could be used to obtain very important biochemical molecules such as proteins, natural heterocyclic bases, adenosine mono- and triphosphate (AMP and ATP) isomers, etc. very rapidly in prebiotic conditions. In addition, some results demonstrated that it is possible to generate, with high chemio-, regio-, and stereoselectivity, AMPs and their oligonucleotides together with small amounts of ATP, by mixing in a one-pot reaction, D-ribose, adenine, and TMP in aseptic water as a solvent. This process might explain the spontaneous generation of pre-RNA molecules in a primordial Earth and the easy formation of ATP.

Keywords:

• Cyclic phosphorus pentacoordinate
• phosphoric anhydride
• trimetaphosphates
• prebiotic reagents
• RNA
• evolution of life