How did chemisty and oceans produce this?

Cells Today:

• concentration of monomers and enzymes and proteins which act as an energy source
• O and OH are removed (hydration)
• monomers join together to make polymers

4 Billion years ago:

• NO cells
• need to concentrate monomers together to facilitate polymer formatoin

Step 2: Concentrate the Monomers:

• Local Evaporation (clays) --> Tides ?
• heat from expelled lava (St. Helens)
• tidal pools (bigger tides)
• freezing of water

Energy Sources:

• lightning (Jupiter)
• heat
• UV

All of the above are quite inefficient compared to enzymes

Clays --> Silicate Surfaces --> acts as a catalyst

Peptide chains of around 100 amino acids can be found today

Does the reaction on the silicate surfaces favor L amino acids?

Step 3: BIG, Unknown Next Step --> need to organize a system capable of self-replication (e.g. DNA)

• Organic polymers in high concentration seperate out from liquid medium as individual droplets --> proto-cells
• long chain molecules can act as a membrane

EVOLTUIONARY ADVANTAGE: Polymers that could reproduce themselves will survive

• Trial and Error until "right" combination is acheived (DNA)
• every living organism on the earth has DNA
• Fossil Record indicates that single celled life first emerged 3.5 billion years ago
• Therefore it took one billion years to go from atmospheric chemistry to blue green algaes via the oceanic pathway
• All you need is time?

Now we have a multiplying population of bacteria (prokaryotes) that has to eat to survive:

What to eat?

• First feed off other organic molecules via fermentation
• fermentation is very inefficient, releases little energy
• Big problem --> the food supply is running out

EVOLTUIONARY ADVANTAGE: Bacteria that could process plentiful UV light and INorganic molecules will survive

• are most plentiful molecules dissolved in the oceans
• requires least amount of energy to break apart
• early blue green algae therefore metabolized giving off sulfur as a waste product --> stinky anerobic photosynthesis
• Important --> photosynthesis evolved from a need for the bacteria to be able to feed themselves and multiply

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