Publication detail

Prebiotic route to thymine from formamide - A combined experimental–theoretical study

PETERA, L. MRÁZIKOVÁ, K. NEJDL, L. ZEMÁNKOVÁ, K. VACULOVIČOVÁ, M. PASTOREK, A. CIVIŠ, S. KUBELÍK, P. HEAYS, A. CASSONE, G. ŠPONER, J. FERUS, M. ŠPONER, J.

Original Title

Prebiotic route to thymine from formamide - A combined experimental–theoretical study

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

Synthesis of RNA nucleobases from formamide is one of the recurring topics of prebiotic chemistry research. Earlier reports suggest that thymine, the substitute for uracil in DNA, may also be synthesized from formamide in the presence of catalysts enabling conversion of formamide to formaldehyde. In the current paper, we show that to a lesser extent conversion of uracil to thymine may occur even in the absence of catalysts. This is enabled by the presence of formic acid in the reaction mixture that forms as the hydrolysis product of formamide. Under the reaction conditions of our study, the disproportionation of formic acid may produce formaldehyde that hydroxymethylates uracil in the first step of the conversion process. The experiments are supplemented by quantum chemical modeling of the reaction pathway, supporting the plausibility of the mechanism suggested by Saladino and coworkers.

Keywords

formamide; thymine; uracil; prebiotic chemistry; origin of life

Authors

PETERA, L.; MRÁZIKOVÁ, K.; NEJDL, L.; ZEMÁNKOVÁ, K.; VACULOVIČOVÁ, M.; PASTOREK, A.; CIVIŠ, S.; KUBELÍK, P.; HEAYS, A.; CASSONE, G.; ŠPONER, J.; FERUS, M.; ŠPONER, J.

Released

30. 4. 2021

ISBN

1420-3049

Periodical

MOLECULES

Year of study

26

Number

8

State

Swiss Confederation

Pages from

1

Pages to

9

Pages count

9

URL

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082248

Full text in the Digital Library

http://hdl.handle.net/11012/196780

BibTex

@article{BUT171639,
  author="Lukáš {Petera} and Klaudia {Mráziková} and Lukáš {Nejdl} and Kristýna {Zemánková} and Markéta {Vaculovičová} and Adam {Pastorek} and Svatopluk {Civiš} and Petr {Kubelík} and Alan {Heays} and Giuseppe {Cassone} and Jiří {Šponer} and Martin {Ferus} and Judit {Šponer}",
  title="Prebiotic route to thymine from formamide - A combined experimental–theoretical study",
  journal="MOLECULES",
  year="2021",
  volume="26",
  number="8",
  pages="1--9",
  doi="10.3390/molecules26082248",
  issn="1420-3049",
  url="https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082248"
}