Transition metal catalysts: Origin of life?

Felt · Sep 7, 2010

Transition metal catalysts could be key to origin of life, scientists report

something from nothing? organization of inorganic materials into life?!

We used to think if we could understand what carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur were doing, we would immediately be able to understand biology," Morowitz says, listing elements that constitute a large proportion of Earth's biomass. "But now we're finding that these other fairly rare elements, transition metals, are necessary in biology, so we ask, 'What was their role in the origin of life?
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A transition metal atom can act as the core of a metal-ligand complex, in which it is bound to and surrounded by other ligands. Morowitz and his colleagues propose that simple transition metal-ligand complexes in hydrothermal ocean vents catalyzed reactions that gave rise to more complex molecules. These increasingly complex molecules then acted as ligands in increasingly efficient transition metal-ligand complex catalysts. Gradually, the basic molecular ingredients of metabolism accumulated and were able to self-organize into networks of chemical reactions that laid the foundation for life.
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Morowitz and his colleagues are preparing experiments to test the catalytic properties of transition metal-ligand complexes built with different types of ligands. Ligands known to bind tightly to transition metals include molecules produced during the course of the reductive citric acid cycle, a series of biochemical reactions essential for many microorganisms.
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Why are metal ligand-complexes important?
http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Hemoglobin/MetalComplexinBlood.html

Transporting the large amount of oxygen required by the body, and allowing it to leave the blood when it reaches the tissues that demand the most oxygen, require a more sophisticated mechanism than simply dissolving the gas in the blood. To meet this challenge, the body is equipped with a finely-tuned transport system that centers on the metal complex heme..

The ability of metal ions to coordinate with (bind) and then release ligands in some processes, and to oxidize and reduce in other processes makes them ideal for use in biological systems. The most common metal used in the body is iron, and it plays a central role in almost all living cells. For example, iron complexes are used in the transport of oxygen in the blood and tissues.
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Carl Weathers · Sep 8, 2010

Yeah I wouldn't doubt it for a second... it's in your DNA (zinc)

Cobalt in vitamin B12:

There are plenty more examples.

Ugyatag · Sep 8, 2010

That's really interesting, and sounds pretty reasonable.

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Transition metal catalysts: Origin of life?

Felt dangerously impersonal Gold Member

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Felt dangerously impersonal
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