The Origin and Early Evolution of Life: Homochirality Emergence in Prebiotic Environments

Abstract

Homochirality is one of the signatures of life. Numerous geological and prebiotic chemistry studies have proved that disordered soups containing small organic molecules, gases, liquids, and minerals (such as those containing phosphorous) yielded racemic mixtures of building blocks for biomolecule assembly. Polymers obtained from these bricks should have been enantiopure with functional properties similar to modern biomolecules or heterochiral with some functions such as catalyzing a chemical transformation unspecifically. Up until now, no clues have been found as to how symmetry breaking occurred. In this review, we highlight the principal achievements regarding the emergence of homochirality during the prebiotic synthesis of building blocks. Furthermore, we tried to focus on approaches based on prebiotic systems chemistry (bottom-up) and laboratory scales to simulate plausible prebiotic messy environments for the emergence of life. We aim with this review to assemble, even partially, the puzzle pieces of the origin of life regarding the relevant phenomenon of homochiral symmetry breaking.

Keywords: Amino acids; Enantiomers; Homochirality; Phospholipids; Symmetry breaking.