Early planetary environments and the origin of life |
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| Authors: | P V Sukumaran |
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| Institution: | (1) Geological Survey of India, Seminary Hills, 440006 Nagpur, India |
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| Abstract: | The prebiotic organic synthesis occurred in a reducing or mildly oxidising atmosphere. There was no dearth of energy sources
to drive this reaction. The speculation that life originated in ocean floor vent habitats is supported by the recent discovery
of fossil microbes in a mid-Archaean vent ecosystem. Evidence from nucleic acid sequencing that the last common ancestor of
all extant life is a hyperthermophile also lends credence to this hypothesis. The first living molecule that held heritable
genetic information was probably ribonucleicacid. The course of events that nature would have followed to reach the RNA-world
is fairly clear, but simulating this course in the laboratory to reach RNA remains a formidable problem and has little relevance
to an early Earth setting. A prolonged period of abiotic chemical evolution undoubtedly preceded the emergence of the first
living molecule.
P V Sukumaran took his M Tech degree in applied geology from the University of Saugar and has been with the Geological Survey
of India since 1974. His interests include petrology, geochemistry, palaeoceanography and organic evolution. He is presently
posted as Director in the Department at Nagpur |
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