title: One-pot synthesis of amino acid precursors with insoluble organic matter in planetesimals with aqueous activity.
abstract: The exogenous delivery of organic molecules could have played an important role in the emergence of life on the early Earth. Carbonaceous chondrites are known to contain indigenous amino acids as well as various organic compounds and complex macromolecular materials, such as the so-called insoluble organic matter (IOM), but the origins of the organic matter are still subject to debate. We report that the water-soluble amino acid precursors are synthesized from formaldehyde, glycolaldehyde, and ammonia with the presence of liquid water, simultaneously with macromolecular organic solids similar to the chondritic IOM. Amino acid products from hydrothermal experiments after acid hydrolysis include α-, β-, and γ-amino acids up to five carbons, for which relative abundances are similar to those extracted from carbonaceous chondrites. One-pot aqueous processing from simple ubiquitous molecules can thus produce a wide variety of meteoritic organic matter from amino acid precursors to macromolecular IOM in chondrite parent bodies.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kebukawa
authors.affiliation: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: Queenie H S
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural History Sciences, Hokkaido University, N10 W8, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Kensei
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2951-1341
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX 77058, USA.; Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Zolensky
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D018534:Earth, Planet; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry*; D019110:Meteoroids
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D005557:Formaldehyde; D000641:Ammonia; D000079:Acetaldehyde; C010972:glycolaldehyde
keywords: amino acid; aqueous alteration; asteroid; carbonaceous chondrite; insoluble organic matter; meteorite