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Marine phosphate availability and the chemical origins of life on Earth

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  • Matthew P. Brady

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Rosalie Tostevin

    (University of Cape Town)

  • Nicholas J. Tosca

    (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

Prebiotic systems chemistry suggests that high phosphate concentrations were necessary to synthesise molecular building blocks and sustain primitive cellular systems. However, current understanding of mineral solubility predicts negligible phosphate concentrations for most natural waters, yet the role of Fe2+, ubiquitous on early Earth, is poorly quantified. Here we determine the solubility of Fe(II)-phosphate in synthetic seawater as a function of pH and ionic strength, integrate these observations into a thermodynamic model that predicts phosphate concentrations across a range of aquatic conditions, and validate these predictions against modern anoxic sediment pore waters. Experiments and models show that Fe2+ significantly increases the solubility of all phosphate minerals in anoxic systems, suggesting that Hadean and Archean seawater featured phosphate concentrations ~103–104 times higher than currently estimated. This suggests that seawater readily met the phosphorus requirements of emergent cellular systems and early microbial life, perhaps fueling primary production during the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew P. Brady & Rosalie Tostevin & Nicholas J. Tosca, 2022. "Marine phosphate availability and the chemical origins of life on Earth," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-32815-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32815-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher T. Reinhard & Noah J. Planavsky & Benjamin C. Gill & Kazumi Ozaki & Leslie J. Robbins & Timothy W. Lyons & Woodward W. Fischer & Chunjiang Wang & Devon B. Cole & Kurt O. Konhauser, 2017. "Evolution of the global phosphorus cycle," Nature, Nature, vol. 541(7637), pages 386-389, January.
    2. Dougal J. Ritson & Claudio Battilocchio & Steven V. Ley & John D. Sutherland, 2018. "Mimicking the surface and prebiotic chemistry of early Earth using flow chemistry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Matthew W. Powner & Béatrice Gerland & John D. Sutherland, 2009. "Synthesis of activated pyrimidine ribonucleotides in prebiotically plausible conditions," Nature, Nature, vol. 459(7244), pages 239-242, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joanne S. Boden & Juntao Zhong & Rika E. Anderson & Eva E. Stüeken, 2024. "Timing the evolution of phosphorus-cycling enzymes through geological time using phylogenomics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Jade J. Basinski & Sharon E. Bone & Annaleise R. Klein & Wiriya Thongsomboon & Valerie Mitchell & John T. Shukle & Gregory K. Druschel & Aaron Thompson & Ludmilla Aristilde, 2024. "Unraveling iron oxides as abiotic catalysts of organic phosphorus recycling in soil and sediment matrices," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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