Formation Of Extraterrestrial Peptides And Their Derivative
The formation of protein precursors, due to the condensation of atomic carbon under the low-temperature conditions of the molecular phases of the interstellar medium, opens alternative pathways for the origin of life.
We perform peptide synthesis under conditions prevailing in space and provide a comprehensive analytic characterization of its products. The application of 13C allowed us to confirm the suggested pathway of peptide formation that proceeds due to the polymerization of aminoketene molecules that are formed in the C + CO + NH3 reaction.
Here, we address the question of how the efficiency of peptide production is modified by the presence of water molecules. We demonstrate that although water slightly reduces the efficiency of polymerization of aminoketene, it does not prevent the formation of peptides.
Serge A. Krasnokutski, Cornelia Jager, Thomas Henning, Claude Geffroy, Quentin B. Remaury, Pauline Poinot
Subjects: Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2405.00744 [physics.bio-ph] (or arXiv:2405.00744v1 [physics.bio-ph] for this version)
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj7179
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Submission history
From: Serge A. Krasnokutski
[v1] Tue, 30 Apr 2024 15:53:10 UTC (350 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00744
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,
