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N-phosphoryl amino acid models for P-N bonds in prebiotic chemical evolution

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Abstract

Post-translational modification of proteins by N-phosphorylation of the basic amino acid residues plays important roles in biological processes. The high-energy P-N bond might have contributed to the evolution of prebiotic chemistry. N-phosphoryl amino acids (PAAs) can serve as interesting small molecular models for the study of P-N bonds in prebiotic chemical evolution. PAAs are capable of simultaneously producing several important biomolecules such as polypeptides and oligonucleotides under mild reaction conditions. In this review, we describe the chemistry of PAAs, discusse their likely prebiotic origins and their reactivity and how they relate to biological P-N bond species. We also depict a possible prebiotic scenario mediated by PAAs in which PAAs may have acted as one of the essential forces driving prebiotic biomolecules to the first protocell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Feng Ni, Chuan Fu, Yan Liu, Pengxiang Xu, Liu Liu, Ye Lv, Songsen Fu, Ying Sun & Yufen Zhao

  2. School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Xiang Gao & Daxiong Han

  3. Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education; Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yanmei Li & Yufen Zhao

  4. Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90089-0744, USA

    Feng Ni

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  1. Feng Ni
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  2. Chuan Fu
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Correspondence to Yufen Zhao.

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Ni, F., Fu, C., Gao, X. et al. N-phosphoryl amino acid models for P-N bonds in prebiotic chemical evolution. Sci. China Chem. 58, 374–382 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-015-5321-1

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