Radiolysis generates a complex organosynthetic chemical network
| Autor: | Zachary R. Adam, Dmitry Yu. Zubarev, Albert C. Fahrenbach, Betul Kacar, Sofia Marie Jacobson |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Science Ecosystem ecology Ecology (disciplines) Ecological pyramid Complex system 010402 general chemistry 01 natural sciences Article 03 medical and health sciences Origin of life Planetary science Molecule 030304 developmental biology Abiotic component 0303 health sciences Multidisciplinary 010405 organic chemistry Chemistry Entropy production Astrobiology Chemical biology 0104 chemical sciences Networks and systems biology Chemical species Geochemistry 030104 developmental biology Ecological networks Radiolysis Medicine Biological system |
| Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-81293-6 |
| Popis: | The architectural features of cellular life and its ecologies at larger scales are built upon foundational networks of reactions between molecules that avoid a collapse to equilibrium. The search for life’s origins is, in some respects, a search for biotic network attributes in abiotic chemical systems. Radiation chemistry has long been employed to model prebiotic reaction networks, and here we report network-level analyses carried out on a compiled database of radiolysis reactions, acquired by the scientific community over decades of research. The resulting network shows robust connections between abundant geochemical reservoirs and the production of carboxylic acids, amino acids, and ribonucleotide precursors—the chemistry of which is predominantly dependent on radicals. Moreover, the network exhibits the following measurable attributes associated with biological systems: (1) the species connectivity histogram exhibits a heterogeneous (heavy-tailed) distribution, (2) overlapping families of closed-loop cycles, and (3) a hierarchical arrangement of chemical species with a bottom-heavy energy-size spectrum. The latter attribute is implicated with stability and entropy production in complex systems, notably in ecology where it is known as a trophic pyramid. Radiolysis is implicated as a driver of abiotic chemical organization and could provide insights about the complex and perhaps radical-dependent mechanisms associated with life’s origins. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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