Marine phosphate availability and the chemical origins of life on Earth

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 5162
• Main Authors: Brady, Matthew P., Tostevin, Rosalie, Tosca, Nicholas J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02-09-2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/638/169; 639/638/904; 704/445/209; 704/47/4112; Earth; Humanities and Social Sciences; Ionic strength; Ions; Iron; Microorganisms; Minerals; multidisciplinary; Natural waters; Origins; Phosphate; Phosphates; Phosphorus; Photosynthesis; Primary production; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seawater; Solubility; Thermodynamic models
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32815-x

Prebiotic systems chemistry suggests that high phosphate concentrations were necessary to synthesise molecular building blocks and sustain primitive cellular systems. However, current understanding of mineral solubility predicts negligible phosphate concentrations for most natural waters, yet the role of Fe
2+
, ubiquitous on early Earth, is poorly quantified. Here we determine the solubility of Fe(II)-phosphate in synthetic seawater as a function of pH and ionic strength, integrate these observations into a thermodynamic model that predicts phosphate concentrations across a range of aquatic conditions, and validate these predictions against modern anoxic sediment pore waters. Experiments and models show that Fe
2+
significantly increases the solubility of all phosphate minerals in anoxic systems, suggesting that Hadean and Archean seawater featured phosphate concentrations ~10
3
–10
4
times higher than currently estimated. This suggests that seawater readily met the phosphorus requirements of emergent cellular systems and early microbial life, perhaps fueling primary production during the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis.
Phosphate is critical for all life on Earth but its origins have remained enigmatic. Experiments indicate that phosphate may have been abundant in ancient Fe-rich seawater, providing a crucial ingredient for the origins of life on Earth.