title: Activated acetic acid by carbon fixation on (Fe,Ni)S under primordial conditions.
abstract: In experiments modeling the reactions of the reductive acetyl-coenzyme A pathway at hydrothermal temperatures, it was found that an aqueous slurry of coprecipitated NiS and FeS converted CO and CH3SH into the activated thioester CH3-CO-SCH3, which hydrolyzed to acetic acid. In the presence of aniline, acetanilide was formed. When NiS-FeS was modified with catalytic amounts of selenium, acetic acid and CH3SH were formed from CO and H2S alone. The reaction can be considered as the primordial initiation reaction for a chemoautotrophic origin of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, D-85747 Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wächtershäuser
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006868:Hydrolysis; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*; D000069497:Origin of Life; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; C005231:methylmercaptan; D003035:Cobalt; D009532:Nickel; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; C017558:nickel sulfide; C027875:cobaltous sulfide; D019342:Acetic Acid; C022597:ferrous sulfide; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide