Scientists have found that a simple compound — diamidophosphate (DAP) — that was probably present on Earth before
Diamidophosphate (DAP) is an ion that was first used to phosphorylate sugars in an aqueous environment.Diamidophosphate can form salts such as diamidophosphatePhosphorodiamide acid can crystallize as a trihydrate.It is assumed that this is a likely primary reagent for the appearance of the first peptides, lipids and nucleotides of cell membranes, the precursors of all life on Earth.In a Nov. 6, 2017, press release from the Scripps Research Institute, DAP was described as "a compound that could have played a crucial role in the origin of life on Earth."
This and previous similar discoveries indicatethe possibility that DNA and its close chemical cousin, RNA, arose together as products of similar chemical reactions. It also proves that the first self-replicating molecules - the first life of a form on Earth - were a mixture of DNA and RNA.
The new discovery sheds light on how for the first timelife arose on Earth. In particular, the work of scientists at Scripps Research paves the way for more extensive research into exactly how self-replicating DNA-RNA mixtures could have developed and spread on ancient Earth and ultimately laid the foundation for the more mature biology of modern organisms.
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