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Oro, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Oro, J..

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Criteria for the emergence and evolution of life in the solar system

It is proposed that there are at least 25 specific conditions or requirements which have to be fulfilled in order for life to appear and evolve in a planetary system such as ours. The criteria are grouped into five major general areas: (1) Planetary criteria relate to the physical properties of the planet as it is formed and as it becomes a cosmic body with the potential to provide an abode for life. (2) Chemical criteria concern the composition, availability of effective energy sources, and chemical constraints of the environment where reactions take place for the prebiological formation of biochemical compounds. (3) Protobiological criteria relate to the prebiologically synthesized oligomeric and polymeric biomolecules, how they interact cooperatively to form protobiological structures and functions, and self-assemble to give rise to a living system. (4) Evolutionary criteria are concerned with the processes responsible for the increase in complexity of organisms by genomic multiplication, symbiotic integration, and cellular differentiation, as well as with the negentropic ability of organisms to continuously recycle all the volatile biogenic elements. (5) Stellar criteria relate to the elemental composition mass, lifetime, and other features of Main Sequence stars which may be surrounded by planetary systems similar to our own.

Oro, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Synthesis of phosphatidylcholine under possible primitive earth conditions

Using a primitive earth evaporating pond model, the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine was accomplished when a reaction mixture of choline chloride and disodium phosphatidate, in the presence of cyanamide and traces of acid, was evaporated and heated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 100 C for 7 hours. Optimum yields of about 15% were obtained at 80 C. Phosphatidylcholine was identified by chromatographic, chemical and enzymatic degradation methods. On enzymatic hydrolysis with phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C, lysophosphatidylcholine and phosphorylcholine were formed, respectively. Alkaline hydrolysis gave glycerophosphorylcholine. The synthesis of phosphatidylcholine as the major compound was accompanied by the formation of lysophosphatidylcholine in smaller amounts. Cyanamide was found to be essential for the formation of phosphatidylcholine, and only traces of HCl, of the order of that required to convert the disodium phosphatidate to free phosphatidic acid were found necessary for the synthesis. This work suggests that phosphatidylcholine, which is an essential component of most biological membranes, could have been synthesized on the primitive earth.

Rao, M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Could life have evolved in cometary nuclei

The suggestion by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1978) that life might have originated in cometary nuclei rather than directly on the earth is discussed. Factors in the cometary environment including the conditions at perihelion passage leading to the ablation of cometary ices, ice temperatures, the absence of an atmosphere and discrete liquid and solid surfaces, weak cometary structure incapable of supporting a liquid core, and radiation are presented as arguments against biopoesis in comets. It is concluded that although the contribution of cometary and meteoritic matter was significant in shaping the earth environment, the view that life on earth originally arose in comets is untenable, and the proposition that the process of interplanetary infection still occurs is unlikely in view of the high specificity of host-parasite relationships.

Bar-Nun, A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Cometary material and the origins of life on earth

The role of cometary material in determining the environmental conditions of the prebiotic earth is reviewed. The organic synthesis pathways that occur in dense interstellar clouds and in comets are examined, and complex organic molecules believed to exist (amino acids, carboxylic acids, purines, pyrimidines and hydrocarbons) based on spectral detections of degradation products are noted. Estimates of the amount of terrestrial volatiles of cometary origin that may have been acquired in collisions during the early history of the earth are considered, and shown to dominate any estimated contributions to terrestrial carbon from other extraterrestrial sources. Current evidence that the origin and early evolution of life began about four billion years ago is discussed in relation to the cometary bombardment processes occurring at the time and the resultant shock waves, reducing atmospheres and reactive chemical species. It is thus concluded that comets contributed significantly to the processes of chemical evolution necessary for the emergence of life on earth.

Lazcano-Araujo, A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Membrane lipids and the origin of life

The current state of knowledge regarding the development of biological systems is briefly reviewed. At a crucial stage concerning the evolution of such systems, the mechanisms leading to more complex structures must have evolved within the confines of a protected microenvironment, similar to those provided by the contemporary cell membranes. The major components found normally in biomembranes are phospholipids. The structure of the biomembrane is examined, and attention is given to questions concerning the availability of the structural components which are necessary in the formation of primitive lipid membranes. Two approaches regarding the study of protomembranes are discussed. The probability of obtaining ether lipids under prebiotic conditions is considered, taking into account the formation of cyclic and acyclic isoprenoids by the irradiation of isoprene with UV.

Oro, J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Mutagens and carcinogens - Occurrence and role during chemical and biological evolution

The roles of mutagenic and carcinogenic substances in early biologic evolution is examined, along with terrestrial and extraterrestrial sources of mutagens and carcinogens. UV solar radiation is noted to have served to stimulate prebiotic life while also causing harmful effects in plants and animals. Aromatic compounds have been found in meteorites, and comprise leukemogens, polycyclic hydrocarbons, and nitrasamine precursors. Other mutagenic sources are volcanoes, and the beginning of evolution with mutagenic substances is complicated by the appearance of malignancies due to the presence of carcinogens. The atmosphere of the Precambrian period contained both mutagens and early carcinogens and, combined with volcanic activity discharges, formed an atmospheric chemical background analogous to the background ionizing radiation. Carcinogenesis is concluded to be intrinsic to nature, having initiated evolution and, eventually, cancer cells.

Giner-Sorolla, A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Clays in prebiological chemistry

The ways in which clays have been utilized in studies of prebiological chemistry are reviewed, and an assessment is given of the possible role of clays in prebiological systems. The adsorption of organic molecules on clays has been demonstrated, as has the synthesis of bioorganic monomers in the presence of clays. For instance, amino acids, purines and pyrimidines have been obtained from carbon monoxide and nitric acid in the presence of clays at relatively high temperatures (250-325 C). The oligomerization of biochemical monomers, mediated by clays, has also been shown to result in the formation of polymer molecules basic to life. Clays have also been found to affect the condensation of mononucleotides to oligonucleotides.

Rao, M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The contribution of cometary volatiles to the primitive earth

It has been estimated that during its early history the earth captured a mass of cometary material of the order of 10 to the 23rd grams. Since carbon is supposed to be at least three times more abundant in comets than in carbonaceous chondrites (3.5 percent C in C 1 chondrites), it can be deduced that about 1 x 10 to the 22nd grams of carbon (as carbon compounds), were added by comets to the surface of the prebiotic earth. This carbon value is of the same order of magnitude as the value of the organic carbon buried in the earth's sedimentary shell, but approximately one order of magnitude lower than the earth's surface total carbon (7 x 10 to the 22nd gm). The capture of comets by the earth would also have contributed to generating the appropriate aqueous and reducing environmental conditions necessary for organic synthesis.

Oro, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Lipids as a principle for the identification of Archaebacteria

The 'Archaebacteria' consist of several distinct subgroups including methanogens, extreme halophiles and specific thermoacidophiles. These bacteria are distinct from other bacteria with respect to their characteristic RNA compositions, the absence of muramic acid in the cell walls and the predominance of nonsaponifable lipids. The lipid composition of the Archaebacteria consists of isoprenoid and hydroisoprenoid hydrocarbons and isopranyl glycerol ether lipids. The pathways for the biosynthesis of the lipid components are those shared by most microorganisms and demonstrate a close relationship; however, an independent line of descent is indicated by the formation of the isopranyl glycerol ether lipids. This discontinuity formulates a point for delineating the early stages of biological evolution and for dividing bacteria into two subgroups.

Tornabene, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Cyanamide mediated synthesis under plausible primitive earth conditions. VI - The synthesis of glycerol and glycerophosphates

The formation of glycerol occurs when a solution of DL-glyceraldehyde is heated in the presence of hydrogen sulfide at room temperature. DL-glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone treated with hydrazine, as well as DL-glyceraldehyde incubated with formaldehyde are also partially converted to glycerol. The yields of the above reactions are from approximately 1% to about 3%. The formation of glycerophosphates occurs when glycerol is heated with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate and either urea or cyanamide. The yield of glycerophosphates is about 30%, most of which is sn-glycero-1(3)-phosphate. These findings indicate that glycerol and sn-glycero-3-phosphate, which are moieties of glycerolipids, could have been formed under conditions which may have prevailed on the primitive earth.

Epps, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The photolytic degradation and oxidation of organic compounds under simulated Martian conditions

Cosmochemical considerations suggest various potential sources for the accumulation of organic matter on Mars. However the Viking Molecular Analysis did not indicate any indigenous organic compounds on the surface of Mars. Their disappearance from the top layer is most likely caused by the combined action of the high solar radiation flux and various oxidizing species in the Martian atmosphere and regolith. In this study the stability of several organic substances and a sample of the Murchison meteorite was tested under simulated Martian conditions. After adsorption on powdered quartz, samples of adenine, glycine and naphthalene were irradiated with UV light at various oxygen concentrations and exposure times. In the absence of oxygen, adenine and glycine appeared stable over the given irradiation period, whereas a definite loss was observed in the case of naphthalene, as well as in the volatilizable and pyrolizable content of the Murchison meteorite. The presence of oxygen during UV exposure caused a significant increase in the degradation rate of all samples. It is likely that similar processes have led to the destruction of organic materials on the surface of Mars.

Oro, J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Squalenes, phytanes and other isoprenoids as major neutral lipids of methanogenic and thermoacidophilic 'archaebacteria'

The neutral lipids from nine species of methanogenic bacteria (five methanobacilli, two methanococci, a methanospirillum and a methanosarcina) and two thermoacidophilic bacteria (Thermo-plasma and Sulfolobus) have been analyzed. The neutral lipids were found to comprise a wide range (C14 to C30) of polyisoprenyl hydrocarbons with varying degrees of saturation. The principal components represented the three major isoprenoid series (C20 phytanyl, C25 pentaisoprenyl, and C30 squalenyl), in contrast with the neutral lipids of extreme halophiles, which consist predominantly of C2O (phytanyl, geranylgeraniol), C30 (squalenes), C40 (carotenes) and C50 (bacterioruberins compounds), as reported by Kates (1978). These results, which indicate strong general similarities between genetically diverse organisms, support the classification of these organisms in a separate phylogenetic group. The occurrence of similar isoprenoid compounds in petroleum and ancient sediments and the fact that the methanogens, halophiles and thermoacidophiles live in conditions presumed to have prevailed in archaen times suggest that the isoprenoid compounds in petroleum compounds and sediment may have been directly synthesized by organisms of this type

Tornabene, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Association of nucleotides with homoionic clays

The binding of nucleotides to homoionic clays is studied as a possible mechanism for the concentration and catalysis of biological or prebiotic materials on the prebiotic earth. Samples of radioactively labeled adenosine and thymidine nucleotides were mixed in solutions with bentonite, kaolinite or Dowex-50 particles in which all exchangeable sites were occupied by Na, Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu or Zn ions. The binding of nucleotides to homoionic clays is observed, with adenosine nucleotides favored over thymidine, bentonite as the best absorber, and greater binding to clays homoionic in transition metal ions. Results indicate that the oligomerization of nucleotides may be possible by this mechanism, however difficulties in nucleotide variability and base pairing may arise due to the observed preference for purines at the adsorption sites.

Odom, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The effects of ultraviolet light on the degradation of organic compounds - A possible explanation for the absence of organic matter on Mars

The analysis of the top layer of the Martian regolith at the two Viking landing sites did not reveal any indigenous organic compounds. However, the existence of such compounds at deeper layers cannot be ruled out. Cosmochemical considerations indicate various potential sources for organic matter on Mars, such as comets and meteorites. The study tested the stability of a sample of the Murchison meteorite and various organic substances which have been detected in carbonaceous chondrites, such as glycine, adenine and naphthalene, to the action of ultraviolet light. The compounds were adsorbed on powdered quartz and on California desert soil and were irradiated in the presence or absence of oxygen. The organic content, before and after irradiation, was measured by carbon elementary analysis, UV-absorption, amino acid analysis or pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the absence of oxygen, adenine and glycine appear to be stable over the given part of irradiation. A definite degradation was noticed in the case of naphtalene and the Murchison meteorite. In the presence of oxygen in amounts comparable to those on Mars all compounds were degraded. The degree of degradation was influenced by the irradiation time, temperature and oxygen content.

Oro, J.↗