ISSN:
1432-1432
Keywords:
HCN
;
Cyanide
;
HCN oligomers
;
4,5-Dihydroxypyrimidine
;
Orotic Acid
;
5-Hydroxyuracil
;
Adenine
;
4-Aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide
;
Prebiotic
;
Primitive earth
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Summary Dilute (0.1M) solutions of HCN condense to oligomers at pH 9.2. Hydrolysis of these oligomers yields 4,5-dihydroxypyrimidine, orotic acid, 5-hydroxyuracil, adenine, 4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide and amino acids. These results, together with the earlier data, demonstrate that the three main classes of nitrogen-containing biomolecules, purines, pyrimidines and amino acids may have originated from HCN on the primitive earth. The observation of orotic acid and 4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide suggests that the contemporary biosynthetic pathways for nucleotides may have evolved from the compounds released on hydrolysis of HCN oligomers.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01733839
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