title: Polymersomes containing iron sulfide (FeS) as primordial cell model : for the investigation of energy providing redox reactions.
abstract: According to Wächtershäuser's "Iron-Sulfur-World" one major requirement for the development of life on the prebiotic Earth is compartmentalization. Vesicles spontaneously formed from amphiphilic components containing a specific set of molecules including sulfide minerals may have lead to the first autotrophic prebiotic units. The iron sulfide minerals may have been formed by geological conversions in the environment of deep-sea volcanos (black smokers), which can be observed even today. Wächtershäuser postulated the evolution of chemical pathways as fundamentals of the origin of life on earth. In contrast to the classical Miller-Urey experiment, depending on external energy sources, the "Iron-Sulfur-World" is based on the catalytic and energy reproducing redox system FeS+H2S-->FeS2+H2. The energy release out of this redox reaction (∆RG°=-38 kJ/mol, pH 0) could be the cause for the subsequent synthesis of complex organic molecules and the precondition for the development of more complex units similar to cells known today. Here we show the possibility for precipitating iron sulfide inside vesicles composed of amphiphilic block-copolymers as a model system for a first prebiotic unit. Our findings could be an indication for a chemoautotrophic FeS based origin of life.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, August-Bebel-Straße 2, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alpermann
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rüdel
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rüger
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Steiniger
authors.forename: Sandor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nietzsche
authors.forename: Volkan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Filiz
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Förster
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fahr
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weigand
mesh_terms: D052837:Chemoautotrophic Growth; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000069497:Origin of Life; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005296:Ferrous Compounds; D011108:Polymers; C022597:ferrous sulfide