Summary
The synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine was accomplished when a mixture of phosphatidic acid, ethanolamine, and cyanamide at pH 7.3 was taken to dryness and heated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 60°C for 6 h. Chromatographic, enzymatic, and chemical techniques were used to identify and confirm that phosphatidylethanolamine had been formed. This work indicates that the synthesis of this compound can occur starting with precursors and conditions that are presumed to have existed on the primitive Earth.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Arvidson GAE (1968) Structural and metabolic heterogeneity of rat liver glycerophosphatides. Eur J Biochem 4:478–486
Deamer DW (1985) Boundary structures are formed by organic components of the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite. Nature 317:792–793
Deamer DW, Barchfeld GL (1982) Encapsulation of macromolecules by lipid vesicles under simulated prebiotic conditions. J Mol Evol 18:203–206
Deamer DW, Oró J (1980) Role of lipids in prebiotic structures. BioSystems 12:167–175
Eibl H (1980) Synthesis of glycerophospholipids. Chem Phys Lipids 26:405–429
Eichberg J, Sherwood E, Epps DE, Oró J (1977) Cyanamide mediated synthesis under plausible primitive earth conditions. IV. The synthesis of acylglycerols. J Mol Evol 10:221–230
Epps DE, Sherwood E, Eichberg J, Oró J (1978) Cyanamide mediated synthesis under plausible primitive earth conditions. V. The synthesis of phosphatidic acids. J Mol Evol 11: 279–292
Epps DE, Nooner DW, Eichberg J, Sherwood E, Oró J (1979) Cyanamide mediated synthesis under plausible primitive earth conditions. VI. The synthesis of glycerol and glycerophosphates. J Mol Evol 14:235–241
Hargreaves WR, Deamer DW (1978) Origin and early evolution of bilayer membranes. In: Deamer DW (ed) Light transducing membranes. Academic Press, New York, pp 23–60
Hargreaves WR, Mulvihill SJ, Deamer DW (1977) Synthesis of phospholipids and membranes in prebiotic conditions. Nature 266:355–357
Hauser G, Eichberg J (1975) Identification of cytidine diphosphodiglyceride in the pineal gland of the rat and its accumulation in the presence of DL-propanolol. J Biol Chem 250:105–112
Leach WW, Nooner DW, Oró J (1978) Abiotic synthesis of fatty acids. In: Noda H (ed) Origins of life. Proceedings of the 2ISSOL and 5ICOL Meeting Center for Academic Publications, Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, pp 113–122
Lohrmann R (1972) Formation of urea and guanidine by irradiation of ammonium cyanide. J Mol Evol 1:263–269
Miller SL (1955) Production of some organic compounds under possible primitive earth conditions. J Am Chem Soc 77:2351–2361
Nooner DW, Oró J (1979) Synthesis of fatty acids by closed system Fischer-Tropsch processes. In: Hydrocarbon synthesis from carbon monoxide and hydrogen. American Chemical Society, Washington DC (Advances in chemistry series, no 178), pp 159–171
Oró J, Lazcano A (1984) A minimal living system and the origin of a protocell. Adv Space Res 4:167–176
Oró J, Kimball AP, Fritz R, Master R (1959) Amino acid synthesis from formaldehyde and hydroxylamine. Arch Biochem Biophys 84:115–130
Oró J, Sherwood E, Eichberg J, Epps DE (1978) Formation of the phospholipids under primitive earth conditions and the role of membranes in prebiological evolution. In: Deamer DW (ed) Light transducing membranes. Academic Press, New York, pp 1–19
Rao M, Eichberg J, Oró J (1982) Synthesis of phosphatidylcholine under possible primitive earth conditions. J Mol Evol 18:196–202
Sherwood E, Nooner DW, Eichberg J, Epps DE, Oró J (1978) Prebiotic condensation reactions using cyanamide. In: Noda H (ed) Origins of life. Proceedings of the 2ISSOL and 5ICOL Meeting, Center for Academic Publications, Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, pp 105–110
Turner BE, Kislyakov AG, Liszt HS, Kaifu N (1976) Microwave detection of interstellar cyanamide. Astrophysical J 201: L149-L152
Vallentyne JR (1964) Biogeochemistry of organic matter II. Thermal reaction kinetics and transformation products of amino compounds. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 28:157–188
Weber AL, Miller SL (1981) Reasons for the occurrence of the twenty coded protein amino acids. J Mol Evol 17:273–284
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rao, M., Eichberg, J. & Oró, J. Synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine under possible primitive earth conditions. J Mol Evol 25, 1–6 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100033
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100033