Origin of Life on the Earth (eBook)

Front Cover 1
The Origin of Life on the Earth 4
Copyright Page 5
Table of Contents 6
Foreword 10
Introductory Note from the International Union of Biochemistry 14
Editors' Preface 16
Introductory Address 18
Discours d'ouverture 22
Part I: Primary Formation of Primitive Organic Compounds on the Earth 24
Chapter 1. Some Considerations about the Primaeval State of the Earth 26
REFERENCES 32
Chapter 2. Primitive Planetary Atmospheres and the Origin of Life 33
HISTORY OF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE 33
THE ATMOSPHERE OF VENUS 36
THE ATMOSPHERE OF MARS 38
CONCLUSION 39
REFERENCES 39
Chapter 3. The Origin of the Biosphere 40
THE CRUST OF THE EARTH AT PRESENT 40
THE HEAT OF THE EARTH 41
THE FORMATION OF THE CRUST OF THE EARTH 42
THE 'HOT' THEORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE CRUST OF THE EARTH 43
THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE MELTING OUT OF THE CRUST FROM A COLD EARTH 44
THE PRIMARY ATMOSPHERE 46
THE PRIMARY OCEAN 48
INDICATIONS OF THE EARLY BIOSPHERE 49
CONCLUSIONS 54
REFERENCES 56
Chapter 4. The Problem of Stages in Biopoesis 57
REFERENCES 74
Chapter 5. The Evolution of the Atmosphere of the Earth 75
REFERENCES 86
Chapter 6. The Formation of the Earth from Cold Material and the Problem of the Formation of the Simplest Organic Substances 88
REFERENCES 96
Chapter 7. Chemical Diversity and the Origins of Life 97
REFERENCES 104
Chapter 8. The Geological Conditions for the Appearance of Life on the Earth, and the Problems of Petroleum Genesis 105
THE GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AT THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH IN THE EARLY STAGES OF ITS DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROBLEM OF THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 105
THE PRESENT STATE OF RESEARCH ON THE INORGANIC ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM 106
SPACE DISTRIBUTION OF OIL AND GAS DEPOSITS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE TECTONIC STRUCTURE 107
THE VERTICAL RANGE OF HYDROCARBON MIGRATION 108
THE GEOCHEMICAL ASSOCIATES OF PETROLEUM: METHANE, HYDROGEN, NITROGEN, AND HELIUM 112
THE THERMAL CONDITIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF OIL AND THE CHANGE IN ITS COMPOSITION IN THE EARTH'S CRUST 113
THE BIOGENIC (ORGANIC) THEORY OF ORIGIN OF PETROLEUM. CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF ORGANIC MATTER IN THE EARTH'S CRUST 114
REFERENCES 118
Chapter 9. The Role of Dissymmetry in the Origin of Living Material 120
TWO FORMULATIONS OF THE QUESTION 120
THE ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES OF OPTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES: THE PASTEUR EFFECT 120
THE ORIGIN OF DISSYMMETRY IN PRIMAEVAL PROTOPLASM 121
SELECTIVE SPONTANEOUS CRYSTALLIZATION OF ANTIPODES 123
PHOTOCHEMICAL ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS 125
ABSOLUTE ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CIRCULARLY POLARIZED LIGHT 126
A DISSYMMETRIC SEQUENCE AS A FACTOR IN LIFE 128
REFERENCES 129
Session I. DISCUSSION 131
N. H. HOROWITZ: 131
V. I. KRASOVSKII & L S. SHKLOVSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.):
A. A. GARIBYANTS (U.S.S.R.): 134
N. M. GALAKTIONOVA (U.S.S.R.): 136
A. I. LEBEDINSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 138
I. S. SHKLOVSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 138
H. A. LYUBIMOVA (U.S.S.R.): 139
V. V. ALPATOV(U.S.S.R.): 140
A. S. KONIKOVA (U.S.S.R.): 141
J. D. BERNAL (Great Britain): 142
N. H.HOROWITZ (U.S.A.): 142
N. W. PIRIE (Great Britain): 142
A. E. BRAUNSHTEÏN (U.S.S.R.): 143
A. KRAVTSOV(U.S.S.R.): 143
L. PAULING (U.S.A.): 144
Part II: The Transformation of Primary Organic Compounds on the Earth 146
Chapter 10. Formation of Organic Compounds on the Primitive Earth 148
SPARK DISCHARGE—RUN I 149
THE SILENT DISCHARGE —RUN 3 151
SPARKING A MIXTURE OF METHANE, NITROGEN, WATER AND HYDROGEN —RUN 6 151
THE MECHANISM OF SYNTHESIS 151
DISCUSSION 155
REFERENCES 160
Chapter 11. Photosynthesis in the Shortest Ultraviolet 161
REFERENCES 164
Chapter 12. The Reactions Involved in the Formation of Compounds Preliminary to the Synthesis of Protoplasm and other Materials of Biological Importance 165
FORMATION OF MONO-AMINO MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS 166
REFERENCES 175
Chapter 13. The Original Formation of Amino Acids under the Action of Ultraviolet Rays and Electric Discharges 176
THE ACTION OF ULTRAVIOLET RAYS 177
THE ACTION OF ELECTRIC DISCHARGES 179
REFERENCES 182
Chapter 14. Absolute Asymmetric Synthesis and Asymmetric Catalysis 183
1. THE RESOLUTION OF RACEMATES BY ASYMMETRIC ADSORPTION 183
2. ASYMMETRIC CATALYSIS 186
REFERENCES 192
Chapter 15. Some Conditions for the Appearance of Life on the Earth 194
Session II. DISCUSSION 197
I. E. EL'PINER & A. V. SOKOL'SKAYA (U.S.S.R.):
M. VOL'KENSHTEIN (U.S.S.R): 199
A. G. PASYNSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 199
E. I. KLABUNOVSKIÏ & V. V. PATRIKEEV (U.S.S.R.):
M. A. MESSINEVA (U.S.S.R.) : 204
L. PAULING (U.S.A.): 207
J. D. BERNAL (Great Britain): 207
S. AKABORI (Osaka, Japan) : 208
C. REID (Canada) : 208
D. SAPOZHNIKOV (U.S.S.R.): 208
S. L. MILLER (U.S.A.) : 209
S. Fox (U.S.A.) 209
A. G. PASYNSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 209
A. YA. SMIRNOVA (U.S.S.R.): 209
A. A. GURVICH (U.S.S.R.): 210
Part III: The Origin of Proteins, Nucleoproteins and Enzymes 212
Chapter 16. On the Origin of the Fore-protein 214
REFERENCES 221
Chapter 17. Der Ursprung der Enzyme 222
EINLEITUNG 222
VORSTUFEN DER ENZYME 223
DIE ENTSTEHUNG DER ENZYME AUS IHREN VORSTUFEN 225
DAS PROBLEM DER GENETISCHEN FIXIERUNG DER URSPRÜNGLICH ENTSTANDENEN ENZYME 229
SCHLUSSBEMERKUNGEN 230
LITERATUR 231
Chapter 18. Evolution of Enzymes and the Photosynthetic Apparatus 232
Chapter 19. The Nature of the Forces Operating in the Process of the Duplication of Molecules in Living Organisms 242
REFERENCES 250
Chapter 20. The Occurrence of Amino Acids in Nature 251
REFERENCES 256
Chapter 21. Ähnlichkeitder Struktur bei Eiweißstoffen 258
LITERATUR 267
Chapter 22. Die Kontinuität des Eiweisses 268
1. ARTEIGENTÜMLICHKEITEN IM AUFBAU DER PROTEINE 268
2. SYNTHESE UND UMFORMUNG VON PROTEINEN 274
3. REDUPLIKATION DES EIWEISSES 275
4. WAHRUNG DER KONTINUITÄT BEI DER FORTPFLANZUNG 275
5. NUCLEOPROTAMINE ALS GENE 277
7. UMWANDLUNG VON PROTAMINEN IN HISTONE 279
8. MUTATIONEN 280
9. NEUE EIGENSCHAFTEN DURCH QUANTITATIVE VERSCHIEBUNGEN 281
LITERATURVERZEICHNIS 281
Chapter 23. A Chemical Theory of Spontaneous Generation 283
REFERENCES 289
Chapter 24. Complex Compounds and Models of Enzymes 290
REFERENCES 301
Chapter 25. Experimental Demonstration of the Occurrence of Metabolic Processes in Simple Proteins 302
REFERENCES 307
Chapter 26. The Problem of the Origin of the Proteins 308
D-AMINO ACID OXIDASE 313
PREPARATION OF THE REACTION MIXTURES 314
PREPARATION OF SAMPLES FOR ASSAY 314
REFERENCES 315
Session III. DISCUSSION 316
S. E. BRESLER (U.S.S.R.): 316
A. G. PASYNSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 317
S. OERIU (Rumänien): 318
G. F. GAUSE (U.S.S.R.): 318
E. M. MAKOVSKIÏ (Rumania): 319
A. M. GOLDOVSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.) : 320
Part IV: The Origin of Proteins, Nucleoproteins and Enzymes 322
Chapter 27. Nucleic Acids as Carriers of BiologicalInformation 324
IS THERE A HIERARCHY OF CELLULAR CONSTITUENTS ? 324
ON BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION CHEMICALLY CONVEYED 325
INVARIABILITY OF NUCLEIC ACIDS 327
DIVERSITY OF NUCLEIC ACIDS 327
REGULARITY OF NUCLEIC ACIDS 328
CONCLUDING REMARKS 328
REFERENCES 329
Chapter 28. The Infective Nucleic Acid from Tobacco Mosaic Virus 330
REFERENCES 333
Chapter 29. Die Bedeutung der Virusforschung für die Erkenntnis biologischer Vermehrungsvorgänge 334
LITERATURVERZEICHNIS 338
Chapter 30. On the Nature of Viruses, Genes and Life 340
SELECTED REFERENCES 347
Chapter 31. On the Species Specificity of the Nucleic Acids of Bacteria 349
REFERENCES 357
Chapter 32. Die Spezifizität der Desoxyribonukleinsäure 359
LITERATURVERZEICHNIS 360
Chapter 33. Die Entstehung des dynamischen Zustandes 361
DAS WESEN DES DYNAMISCHEN ZUSTANDS 361
CHEMISCHER UND BIOLOGISCHER AUSTAUSCH 362
DIE VERBREITUNG DES DYNAMISCHEN ZUSTANDS 363
DER METASTABILE ZUSTAND DER LEBEWESEN 364
DIE 'ERFINDUNG' DER ENZYME 366
BEMERKUNGEN ÜBER VIREN 368
LITERATURVERZEICHNIS 369
Chapter 34. Synthèse Enzymatique des Ribopolynucléotides 371
ABRÉVIATIONS 371
LITERATURE 387
Chapter 35. A Note on the Evolution of Nucleic Acids 389
REFERENCES 391
Chapter 36. Les Acides Nucléiques et l'Origine des Protéines 392
INTRODUCTION 392
DIFFICULTÉ DE DÉFINIR LA VIE 392
ACIDES NUCLÉIQUES ET SYNTHÈSE DES PROTÉINES 394
HYPOTHÈSES SUR L'ORIGINE DES PROTÉINES 397
BIBLIOGRAPHIE 398
Session IV. DISCUSSION 399
A. I. OPARIN (U.S.S.R.): 399
I. MALEK (Czechoslovakia): 399
E. N. PAVLOVSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 400
N. W. PIRIE (Gt. Britain): 401
A. A. SMORODINTSEV (U.S.S.R.): 402
H. L. FRAENKEL-CONRAT (U.S.A.): 403
W. M. STANLEY (U.S.A.): 403
L. A. ZIL'BER (U.S.S.R.): 403
V. RYZHKOV (U.S.S.R.): 404
A. N. BELOZERSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 405
G. SCHRAMM (Federal German Republic) : 406
V. S. TONGUR (U.S.S.R.): 406
S. E. BRESLER (U.S.S.R.): 407
A. S. KONIKOVA (U.S.S.R.): 409
M. GRUNBERG-MANAGO (France): 409
K. G. IOFFE (U.S.S.R.): 410
N. I. NUZHDIN (U.S.S.R.): 411
Part V: The Origin of Structure and Metabolism 414
Chapter 37. The Scale of Structural Units in Biopoesis 416
REFERENCES 430
Chapter 38. The Part Played by Structural Elements in the Biochemical Function of Cells 431
CHANGES IN THE BIOCHEMICAL FUNCTIONS OF INTRACELLULAR STRUCTURES DEPENDING ON THE PECULIARITIES OF THE ORGANISM AND THE CONDITIONS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT 433
THE COMMON FEATURES OF THE QUANTITATIVE AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF THE PROTEINS OF DIFFERENT STRUCTURES 440
STRUCTURE AND BIOCHEMICAL FUNCTIONS 442
CONCLUSIONS 445
REFERENCES 446
Chapter 39. Problèmes d'Évolution dans la Thermodynamique des Phénomènes Irréversibles 449
RÉFÉRENCES 458
Chapter 40. Biochemical Processes in the Simplest Structures 459
REFERENCES 471
Chapter 41. The Origin of Life and the Formation and Organizing Functions of Natural Membranes 472
REFERENCES 477
Chapter 42. Enzymic Reactions in Stationary Open Systems 479
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 485
REFERENCES 489
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION 480
Chapter 43. Biosynthesis of Enzymes and their Origin 490
REFERENCES 494
Chapter 44. Cell Structure and Protein Synthesis 495
Chapter 45. Some Relationships Between Coacervates and Enzymes 501
REFERENCES 504
Chapter 46. Protein Complexes as Biochemically Active Systems 505
REFERENCES 513
Session V. DISCUSSION 515
K. MOTHES (Gatersleben, Germany): 515
O. B. LEPESHINSKAYA (U.S.S.R.): 519
M. V. VOL'KENSHTEÏN (U.S.S.R.): 520
A. G. PASYNSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 521
K. S. TRINCHER (U.S.S.R.): 522
ZH. IORDANOV (Bulgaria): 526
G. M. FRANK (U.S.S.R.): 526
S. W. Fox (U.S.A.): 527
F. SOKOL (Czechoslovakia): 527
T. N. EVREINOVA (U.S.S.R.): 528
V. I. VOROBIEV (U.S.S.R.): 529
G. P. KALINA (U.S.S.R.): 530
M. I. GOL'DIN (U.S.S.R.): 531
R. L. BERG (U.S.S.R.): 531
V. S. TONGUR (U.S.S.R.): 536
B. S. DISKINA (U.S.S.R.): 537
J. D. BERNAL (Great Britain): 539
I. PRIGOGINE (Belgium): 539
Part VI: The Evolution of Metabolism 540
Chapter 47. L'Extension de la Biosphère et l'Évolution Biochimique 542
I. INTRODUCTION 542
II. EVOLUTION DES CONSTITUANTS BIOCHIMIQUES 543
III. EVOLUTION DES SYSTÈMES BIOCHIMIQUES 549
BIBLIOGRAPHIE 554
Chapter 48. Über einige wahrscheinliche Wege der Evolution des Stoffwechsels bei den Mikroorganismen 555
DIE PHOTOSYNTHESE BEI DEN PURPURSCHWEFELBAKTERIEN UND HÖHEREN PFLANZEN VOM STANDPUNKT DER FUNKTIONEN-EVOLUTION 557
DIE CHEMOSYNTHESE 558
DIE 'HETEROTROPHE PHOTOASSIMILATION' 560
LITERATUR 564
Chapter 49. The Pathways of Biological Assimilation and Dissimilation of Nitrogen and Some Aspects of Their Evolution 566
REFERENCES 582
Chapter 50. Le Rôle de l'Ammoniaque dans l'Assimilation Autotrophe de l'Azote 583
BIBLIOGRAPHIE 592
Chapter 51. Meaning of Nitrate and Sulphate Reduction in the Process of Metabolic Evolution 594
REFERENCES 600
Chapter 52. The Comparative Characters of the Oxidative Systems of Various Groups of Organisms in Relation to Their Evolution 601
REFERENCES 610
Chapter 53. The Effect of Cysteine on the Methionine Content of the Animal and Plant Organism 611
CONCLUSIONS 616
REFERENCES 616
Session VI. DISCUSSION 617
K. MOTHES (Deutschland): 617
A. BLAGOVESHCHENSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 618
N. S. AKULOV (U.S.S.R.): 618
G. A. KRITSKIÏ (U.S.S.R.): 619
Part VII: The Evolution of Metabolism (continued) 622
Chapter 54. Au Sujet du Passage de la vie Anaérobie à la vie Aérobie 624
1. LES RÉACTIONS LIBÉRANT ET TRANSFÉRANT L'ÉNERGIE COMMUNES AUX ANAÉROBIES ET AUX AÉROBIES 624
2. L'APPARITION D'OXYGÈNE LIBRE 625
3. LES CONSÉQUENCES DE L'APPARITION D'OXYGÈNE LIBRE 626
CONCLUSIONS 630
BIBLIOGRAPHIE 631
Chapter 55. Significance of Molecular Hydrogen Metabolism in the Transitionary Stage from Anaerobiosis to Aerobiosis 632
INTRODUCTION 632
STAGE OF ANAEROBIOSIS 633
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTION 635
TRANSITIONARY STAGE FROM ANAEROBIOSIS TO AEROBIOSIS 639
STAGE OF AEROBIOSIS 641
REFERENCES 644
Chapter 56. Development of the Mode of Action of the Photocatalytic System in Organisms 645
FORMATION OF PHOTOCATALYSTS 645
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIGMENT SYSTEM 647
MECHANISM OF PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTION 648
DEVELOPMENT OF CONJUGATION OF PIGMENT AND ENZYMIC SYSTEM 652
DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN (ELECTRON) DONOR UTILIZATION 654
THE STATE OF PHOTOCATALYTIC PIGMENTS 655
REFERENCES 656
Chapter 57. The Relation between Primitive and Present-day Photobiological Processes 658
GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF PHOTOPOLYMERIZATION 658
EVIDENCE FROM EXISTING BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES 660
RADIATION DAMAGE 661
EXPERIMENTAL 662
REFERENCES 664
Chapter 58. The Evolution of Chemosynthesis 665
REFERENCES 672
Chapter 59. Entstehung und Evolution der phototrophen Ernährungsweise 674
LITERATURNACHWEIS 680
Chapter 60. Die Grundetappen der Biogenese des Chlorophylls 681
LITERATUR 688
Chapter 61. Thermal Factors in Archaeometabolism 689
REFERENCES 690
Session VII. DISCUSSION 691
Author Index 696
Subject Index 713