Phosphoribosyl Pyrophosphate: A Molecular Vestige of the Origin of Life on Minerals

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie Vol. 129; no. 27; pp. 8028 - 8031
• Main Authors: Akouche, Mariame, Jaber, Maguy, Maurel, Marie‐Christine, Lambert, Jean‐Francois, Georgelin, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 26-06-2017
• Subjects: Adenine; Adenosine monophosphate; AMP; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; D-Ribose; Eintopfsynthesen; Glycosylation; Minerals; Nukleotide; Oberflächenchemie; Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate; Phosphoribosylpyrophosphat; Phosphorylation; Ribose; Silica; Silica fume; Silicon dioxide; Ursprung des Lebens
• ISSN: 0044-8249; 1521-3757
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.201702633

In this contribution, we report the formation under prebiotic conditions of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) as a molecular precursor in the one‐pot synthesis of a canonical nucleotide, namely adenosine monophosphate (AMP) from its building blocks (KH2PO4 or Pi, adenine, and d‐ribose), on a fumed silica surface. The on‐the‐rocks approach has been successfully applied to the simultaneous phosphorylation and glycosylation of ribose. The one‐pot formation mechanism of AMP involves a two‐step pathway via an activated intermediate, namely PRPP, obtained by multiple ribose phosphorylations upon mild thermal activation.
AMP auf Siliciumoxid: Unter präbiotischen Bedingungen wird Phosphoribosylpyrophosphat (PRPP) gebildet. Diese Verbindung diente als molekulare Zwischenstufe in einer Eintopfsynthese des kanonischen Nukleotids Adenosinmonophosphat (AMP) aus den Bausteinen KH2PO4, Adenin und d‐Ribose auf der Oberfläche von pyrogenem Siliciumdioxid.