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Ribó JM, Hochberg D. Physical Chemistry Models for Chemical Research in the XXth and XXIst Centuries. ACS PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY AU 2024; 4:122-134. [PMID: 38560750 PMCID: PMC10979499 DOI: 10.1021/acsphyschemau.3c00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Thermodynamic hypotheses and models are the touchstone for chemical results, but the actual models based on time-invariance, which have performed efficiently in the development of chemistry, are nowadays invalid for the interpretation of the behavior of complex systems exhibiting nonlinear kinetics and with matter and energy exchange flows with the surroundings. Such fields of research will necessarily foment and drive the use of thermodynamic models based on the description of irreversibility at the macroscopic level, instead of the current models which are strongly anchored in microreversibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josep M. Ribó
- Department
of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, University
of Barcelona, c. Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institute
of Cosmos Science (IEEC-UB), c. Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - David Hochberg
- Department
of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología
(CSIC-INTA), E-28850 Torrejón de Ardóz, Madrid, Spain
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2
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Westall F, Brack A, Fairén AG, Schulte MD. Setting the geological scene for the origin of life and continuing open questions about its emergence. FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES 2023; 9:1095701. [PMID: 38274407 PMCID: PMC7615569 DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1095701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The origin of life is one of the most fundamental questions of humanity. It has been and is still being addressed by a wide range of researchers from different fields, with different approaches and ideas as to how it came about. What is still incomplete is constrained information about the environment and the conditions reigning on the Hadean Earth, particularly on the inorganic ingredients available, and the stability and longevity of the various environments suggested as locations for the emergence of life, as well as on the kinetics and rates of the prebiotic steps leading to life. This contribution reviews our current understanding of the geological scene in which life originated on Earth, zooming in specifically on details regarding the environments and timescales available for prebiotic reactions, with the aim of providing experimenters with more specific constraints. Having set the scene, we evoke the still open questions about the origin of life: did life start organically or in mineralogical form? If organically, what was the origin of the organic constituents of life? What came first, metabolism or replication? What was the time-scale for the emergence of life? We conclude that the way forward for prebiotic chemistry is an approach merging geology and chemistry, i.e., far-from-equilibrium, wet-dry cycling (either subaerial exposure or dehydration through chelation to mineral surfaces) of organic reactions occurring repeatedly and iteratively at mineral surfaces under hydrothermal-like conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - André Brack
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS, Orléans, France
| | - Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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Fiore M, Chieffo C, Lopez A, Fayolle D, Ruiz J, Soulère L, Oger P, Altamura E, Popowycz F, Buchet R. Synthesis of Phospholipids Under Plausible Prebiotic Conditions and Analogies with Phospholipid Biochemistry for Origin of Life Studies. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:598-627. [PMID: 35196460 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phospholipids are essential components of biological membranes and are involved in cell signalization, in several enzymatic reactions, and in energy metabolism. In addition, phospholipids represent an evolutionary and non-negligible step in life emergence. Progress in the past decades has led to a deeper understanding of these unique hydrophobic molecules and their most pertinent functions in cell biology. Today, a growing interest in "prebiotic lipidomics" calls for a new assessment of these relevant biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Fiore
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Carolina Chieffo
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Augustin Lopez
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Dimitri Fayolle
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Johal Ruiz
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut National Des Sciences Appliquées, INSA Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Laurent Soulère
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut National Des Sciences Appliquées, INSA Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Philippe Oger
- Microbiologie, Adaptation et Pathogénie, UMR 5240, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Emiliano Altamura
- Chemistry Department, Università degli studi di Bari "Aldo Moro," Bari, Italy
| | - Florence Popowycz
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
- Institut National Des Sciences Appliquées, INSA Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - René Buchet
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Institut de Chimie et de Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, UMR 5246, CNRS, CPE, Villeurbanne, France
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Ribó JM, Hochberg D. The Coordinate Reaction Model: An Obstacle to Interpreting the Emergence of Chemical Complexity. Chemistry 2021; 27:13098-13106. [PMID: 34259350 PMCID: PMC8518807 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202101562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The way chemical transformations are described by models based on microscopic reversibility does not take into account the irreversibility of natural processes, and therefore, in complex chemical networks working in open systems, misunderstandings may arise about the origin and causes of the stability of non-equilibrium stationary states, and general constraints on evolution in systems that are far from equilibrium. In order to be correctly simulated and understood, the chemical behavior of complex systems requires time-dependent models, otherwise the irreversibility of natural phenomena is overlooked. Micro reversible models based on the reaction-coordinate model are time invariant and are therefore unable to explain the evolution of open dissipative systems. The important points necessary for improving the modeling and simulations of complex chemical systems are: a) understanding the physical potential related to the entropy production rate, which is in general an inexact differential of a state function, and b) the interpretation and application of the so-called general evolution criterion (GEC), which is the general thermodynamic constraint for the evolution of dissipative chemical systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josep M. Ribó
- Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Organic Chemistry Section Institute of Cosmos Science (IEEC-UB)University of Barcelonac. Martí i Franquès 108028Barcelona, CataloniaSpain
| | - David Hochberg
- Department of Molecular EvolutionCentro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)Ctra. Ajalvir, Km. 428850, Torrejón de ArdozMadridSpain
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Boojari MA. Investigating the Evolution and Development of Biological Systems from the Perspective of Thermo-Kinetics and Systems Theory. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2020; 50:121-143. [PMID: 33269436 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-020-09601-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Life itself is grander than the sum of its constituent molecules. Any living organism may be regarded as a part of a dissipative process that connects irreversible energy consumption with growth, reproduction, and evolution. Under energy-fuelled, far-from-equilibrium conditions, chemical systems capable of exponential growth can manifest a specific form of stability- dynamic kinetic stability (DKS) - indicating the persistence of self-reproducible entities. This kinetic behavior is associated with thermodynamic conditions far from equilibrium leading to an evolutionary view of the origin of life in which increasing entities have to be associated with the dissipation of free energy. This review aims to reformulate Darwinian theory in physicochemical terms so that it can handle both animate and inanimate systems, thus helping to overcome this theoretical divide. The expanded formulation is based on the principle of dynamic kinetic stability and evidence from the emerging field of systems chemistry. Although the classic Darwinian theory is useful for understanding the origins and evolution of species, it is not meant to primarily build an explicit framework for predicting potential evolution routes. Throughout the last century, the inherently systemic and dynamic nature of the biological systems has been brought to the attention of researchers. During the last decades, "systems" approaches to biology and genome evolution are gaining ever greater significance providing the possibility of a deeper interpretation of the basic concepts of life. Further progress of this approach depends on crossing disciplinary boundaries and complex simulations of biological systems. Evolutionary systems biology (ESB) through the integration of methods from evolutionary biology and systems biology aims to the understanding of the fundamental principles of life as well as the prediction of biological systems evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Amin Boojari
- Space Biology and Astrobiology Research Team (SBART), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran.
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