Prebiotic Systems Chemistry: New Perspectives for the Origins of Life
Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo †, Carlos Briones ‡, and Andrés de la Escosura *§
† Biophysics Unit (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Leioa, and Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of the Basque Country, Avenida de Tolosa 70, 20080 Donostia−San Sebastián, Spain
‡ Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC−INTA, associated to the NASA Astrobiology Institute), Carretera de Ajalvir, Km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
§ Organic Chemistry Department, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Chem. Rev., 2014, 114 (1), pp 285–366
DOI: 10.1021/cr2004844
Publication Date (Web): October 31, 2013
Copyright © 2013 American Chemical Society
*E-mail andres.delaescosura@uam.es.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. A Historically Controversial Field
1.2. Systems Chemistry as a New, More Encompassing Perspective
2. Chemical Pathways to Biomolecules
2.1. Prebiotic Synthesis of Monomers: Lipids, Amino Acids, and Nucleotides
2.1.1. Synthesis of Lipids
2.1.2. Synthesis of Amino Acids
2.1.3. Synthesis of Nucleotides
2.1.4. Summary
2.2. Prebiotic Synthesis of Polymers: Peptides and Nucleic Acids
2.2.1. Synthesis of Peptides
2.2.2. Synthesis of Nucleic Acids
2.2.3. Coevolution in the Synthesis of Peptides and Nucleic Acids
2.3. Origins of Homochirality
3. Complex Chemical Processes on the Way to Living Systems
3.1. Emergence of Complex Chemical Behavior: Self-Organization and Self-Assembly
3.1.1. Oscillatory Reaction Dynamics
3.1.2. Autocatalytic Networks and Protometabolic Cycles
3.1.3. Assembly of Amphiphilic Molecules into Protocellular Compartments
3.2. Reproduction and Replication Processes
3.2.1. Reproduction of Vesicles
3.2.2. Networks of Replicating Polymers
3.3. Development of Biological Evolutionary Mechanisms: The RNA World
3.3.1. Pre-RNA Worlds
3.3.2. The RNA World Hypothesis: Combining Genotype and Phenotype at the Molecular Level
3.3.3. RNA Virus Quasispecies as a Model System for the RNA World
4. Systemic Integration Approaches
4.1. Template–Metabolism Integration
4.2. Boundary–Template Integration
4.3. Metabolism–Boundary Integration
4.4. Toward the Integration of Template, Metabolism, and Boundary
5. Current Methodological Tools for the Challenge
5.1. Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry
5.2. High-Throughput Biochemical Techniques: Sequencing Technologies and Microarrays
5.3. In Vitro Evolution of Nucleic Acids and Other Biomolecules
5.4. Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Approaches
