Scientists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have proposed a new hypothesis explaining how key biochemical reactions could have arisen on early Earth. According to them, ordinary metals present in hydrothermal vents on the ancient ocean floor played an important role in this process.

The research findings were presented in a series of preprints on the arXiv.org server.

The phosphate puzzle

One of the main difficulties in theories of the origin of life remains the question of how phosphate emerged — a compound without which DNA, RNA, and the ATP molecule, the main energy source in cells, are impossible. Phosphate dissolves poorly in water and enters into chemical reactions with great difficulty, making its emergence in a prebiotic environment unlikely.

The researchers suggested that metals acting as natural catalysts could have solved this problem.

Laboratory experiments

The hypothesis was prompted by the study of rare modern bacteria capable of converting phosphite into phosphate and using the released energy to synthesize important biomolecules.

In the laboratory, scientists tested the action of various metals. Nickel showed moderate effectiveness, while palladium significantly accelerated the attachment of phosphate groups to ribose, glucose, adenosine monophosphate, and other key molecules necessary for living cell function.

Hydrothermal vents as a laboratory for life

According to the authors, similar reactions could have occurred billions of years ago in serpentinizing hydrothermal vents. In such places, seawater reacts with rocks from Earth's upper mantle, creating a hydrogen-rich and chemically active environment.

Recent geological studies confirm that nickel, palladium, and other potential catalysts are indeed present in these vents, as well as phosphite — another key component of the proposed mechanism.

Significance of the discovery

If the hypothesis is confirmed, it could help explain how phosphate became one of the fundamental building blocks of life long before the first cells appeared. Hydrothermal vents could have simultaneously supplied both the reagents and the metal catalysts necessary to kick-start the first biochemical processes.

In brief

Scientists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have proposed that metals in ancient hydrothermal vents could have catalyzed reactions involving phosphate and triggered the formation of the first biomolecules. Experiments showed high effectiveness for palladium and nickel. The hypothesis connects the origin of life to serpentinizing systems on the ocean floor and offers a new explanation for the emergence of key components of living cells.