Non-enzymatic synthesis of the coenzymes, uridine diphosphate glucose and cytidine diphosphate choline, and other phosphorylated metabolic intermediates

Abstract

The synthesis of uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG), cytidine diphosphate choline (CDP-choline), glucose-1-phosphate (G1P) and glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) has been accomplished under simulated prebiotic conditions using urea and cyanamide, two condensing agents considered to have been present on the primitive Earth. The synthesis of UDPG was carried out by reacting G1P and UTP at 70 degrees C for 24 hours in the presence of the condensing agents in an aqueous medium. CDP-choline was obtained under the same conditions by reacting choline phosphate and CTP X G1P and G6P were synthesized from glucose and inorganic phosphate at 70 degrees C for 16 hours. Separation and identification of the reaction products have been performed by paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography, enzymatic analysis and ion pair reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. These results suggest that metabolic intermediates could have been synthesized on the primitive Earth from simple precursors by means of prebiotic condensing agents.