Prebiotic phosphorylation-nucleotide synthesis with apatite

Abstract

An evaporating-pond model has been utilized for the phosphorylation of nucleosides under simulated prebiotic conditions. The evaporation of dilute solutions of uridine and ammonium oxalate, in contact with apatite and under relatively mild conditions, leads to the synthesis of uridine phosphates. The addition of low concentrations of several condensing agents substantially increases the yield of nucleotide. The nature and concentrations of the materials employed are believed to make this model of prebiotic nucleotide synthesis the first reported to be consistent with geological constraints.