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Heat-initiated prebiotic formation of peptides from glycine/aspartic acid and glycine/valine in aqueous environment and clay suspension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2009

Chandra Kala Pant ,
Hem Lata ,
Hari Datt Pathak  and
Mohan Singh Mehata
Chandra Kala Pant*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, DSB Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital263 002, Uttarakhand, India
Hem Lata
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, DSB Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital263 002, Uttarakhand, India
Hari Datt Pathak
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, DSB Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital263 002, Uttarakhand, India
Mohan Singh Mehata*
Affiliation:
Photophysics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kumaun University, Nainital, India; present address RIES, Hokkaido University, Sapporo001-0020, Japan
*
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The effect of heat on the reaction system of glycine/aspartic acid and glycine/valine in the aqueous environment as well as in montmorillonite clay suspension with or without divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+ and Ni2+) has been investigated at 85°C±5°C for varying periods under prebiotic drying and wetting conditions. The resulting products were analysed and characterized by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. Peptide formation appears to depend on the duration of heat effect, nature of reactant amino acids and, to some extent, on montmorillonite clay incorporated with divalent cations. In the glycine/aspartic acid system, oligomerization of glycine was limited up to trimer level (Gly)3 along with the formation of glycyl-aspartic acid, while linear and cyclic peptides of aspartic acid were not formed, whereas the glycine/valine system preferentially elongated homo-oligopeptide of glycine up to pentamer level (Gly)5 along with formation of hetero-peptides (Gly-Val and Val-Gly). These studies are relevant in the context of the prebiotic origin of proteins and the role of clay and metal ions in condensation and oligomerization of amino acids. The length of the bio-oligomer chain depends upon the reaction conditions. However, condensation into even a small length seems significant, as the same process would have taken millions of years in the primitive era of the Earth, leading to the first proteins.

Keywords

amino acidsmontmorillonite clayoligopeptidesprebiotic chemical evolution
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 107 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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