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Amino Acid Stability in the Early OceansIt is likely that a variety of amino acids existed in the early oceans of the Earth at the time of the origin and early evolution of life. "Primordial soup", hydrothermal vent, and meteorite based processes could have contributed to such an inventory. Several "protein" amino acids were likely present, however, based on prebiotic synthesis experiments and carbonaceous meteorite studies, non-protein amino acids, which are rare on Earth today, were likely the most abundant. An important uncertainty is the length of time these amino acids could have persisted before their destruction by abiotic and biotic processes. Prior to life, amino acid concentrations in the oceans were likely regulated by circulation through hydro-thermal vents. Today, the entire ocean circulates through vent systems every 10(exp 7) years. On the early Earth, this value was likely smaller due to higher heat flow and thus marine amino acid life-time would have been shorter. After life, amino acids in the oceans could have been assimilated by primitive organisms.


Document ID
20150018102
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Parker, E. T.
(Georgia Inst. of Tech. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Brinton, K. L.
(Southwestern Coll. Memphis, TN, United States)
Burton, A. S.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Glavin, D. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dworkin, J. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Bada, J. L.
(California Univ. San Diego, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 17, 2015
Publication Date
June 15, 2015
Subject Category
Exobiology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN26239
Meeting Information
Meeting: Astrobiology Science Conference
Location: Chicago, IL
Country: United States
Start Date: June 15, 2015
End Date: June 19, 2015
Sponsors: Blue Marble Space, Smart Sparrow Pty Ltd., Tokyo Inst. of Tech., Montana Univ., Lunar and Planetary Inst., Universities Space Research Association
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
prebiotic synthesis
non-protein amino acids
protein amino acids
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