Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Could life have arisen in the primitive atmosphere?

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:
Journal of Molecular Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

A recently proposed model for the origin of prebiotic progenitors of life in particles suspended in a primitive, specially organized atmosphere is considered critically. It is concluded that the physical and chemical framework of the new hypothesis conflicts with the conditions necessary for the evolution of the progenitors of life in the atmosphere of the early Earth. Therefore this model seems not to be a reasonable alternative to the Oparin thesis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Berkner LV, Marshall LC (1965) On the origin and rise of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. J Atmosph Sci 22:225–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkner LV, Marshall LC (1966) Limitation on oxygen concentration in a primitive planetary atmosphere. J Atmosph Sci 23:133–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonner WA (1984) Experimental evidence for beta-decay as a source of chirality by enantiomer analysis. Orig Life 14:383–390

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brinkmann RT (1969) Dissociation of water vapor and evolution of oxygen in the terrestrial atmosphere. J Geophys Res 74:5355–5368

    Google Scholar 

  • Broda E (1978) The evolution of the bioenergetic processes. Pergamon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Dimroth E, Kimberley MM (1976) Precambrian atmospheric oxygen: evidence in the sedimentary distribution of carbon, uranium and iron. Can J Earth Sci 13:1161–1185

    Google Scholar 

  • Eigen M, Schuster P (1979) The hypercycle: a principle of natural self-organization. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox SW, Dose K (1977) Molecular evolution and the origin of life. Marcel Dekker, New York Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Haldane JBS (1929) The origin of life. Rationalist Ann 148:3

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyle F, Wickramashinge C (1977) Does epidemic disease come from space? New Scientist 76:402–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan RW (1978) Der Ursprung des Lebens: Biogenetik, ein Forschungsgebiet heutiger Naturwissenschaft. Thieme, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Keszthelyi L (1984) Parity violation as a source of chiratlity in nature. Orig Life (in press)

  • Kuhn H, Waser J (1981) Molekulare Selbstorganisation und der Ursprung des Lebens. Angew Chem 93:495–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert G (1984) Enzymic editing mechanisms and the origin of biological information transfer. J Theor Biol 107:387–403

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald GA (1972) Volcanoes. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller SL, Orgel LE (1974) The origin of life on the Earth. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Morowitz H, Sagan C (1967) Life in the clouds of Venus? Nature 215:1259–1260

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolet M, Mange P (1954) The dissociation of oxygen in the high atmosphere. J Geophys Res 59:15–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Niemann HB, Hartle RE, Kasprazk WT, Spencer NW (1979) Venus upper atmosphere neutral composition: preliminary results from the pioneer Venus orbiter. Science 203:770–772

    Google Scholar 

  • Oparin AI (1924) Proiskhozdenic Zhizny. Moscow: Izd Moskovski Rabochii

    Google Scholar 

  • Peschek GA (1981) Phylogeny of photosynthesis and the evolution of electron transport: the bioenergetic backbone. Photosynthesis 15:553–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflug HD (1984) Early geological record and the origin of life. Naturwissenschaften 71:63–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagan C, Salpeter EE (1976) Particles, environments and possible ecologies in the Jovian atmosphere. Astrophys J Suppl Ser 32:737–775

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer S (1983) Basic functional states in the evolution of light-driven cyclic electron transport. J Theor Biol 104:289–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer S (1984) Transmembrane electron transport and the neutral theory of evolution. Origins of life 14:725–731

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shklovskii IS, Sagan C (1966) Intelligent life in the universe. Holden-Day, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Sze ND, McElroy MB (1975) Some problems in Venus' aeronomy. Planet Space Sci 23:763–786

    Google Scholar 

  • Urey HC (1959) Primitive planetary atmospheres and the origin of life. In: Oparin AI, Pasynskii AG, Braunstein AE, Pavlovskaya TE (eds) The origin of life on Earth. Pergamon Press, London New York Paris Los Angeles, pp 16–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Holde KE (1980) The origin of life: a thermodynamic critique. In: Halvorson HO, Van Holde KE (eds) The origins of life and evolution. Alan R Liss, New York, pp 31–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Vollmert B (1982) Bedingungen für die Bildung von Makromolekülen. In: Gitt W (ed) Am Anfang war die Information. Resch, Gräfelfing München, pp 79–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Vollmert B (1983) Die Lebewesen und ihre Makromoleküle. E Vollmert Verlag, Karlsruhe

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams H, McBirney AR (1979) Volcanology. Freeman Cooper, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR (1977) A comment on methanogenic bacteria and the primitive ecology. J Mol Evol 9:369–371

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR (1979) A proposal concerning the origin of life on the planet Earth. J Mol Evol 13:95–101

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR (1980) An alternative to the Oparin view of the primeval sequence. In: Halvorson HO, Van Holde KE (eds) The origins of life and evolution. Alan R Liss, New York, pp 65–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Woese CR, Fox GE (1977) Phylogenetic structure of the procaryotic domain: the primary kingdoms. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 74:5088–5090

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yockey HP (1981) Self organization origin of life scenarios and information theory. J Theor Biol 81:13–31

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Physiologie und Biochemie der Pflanzen, Universität Konstanz, Giessberg, D-7750, Konstanz, FRG

    Siegfried Scherer

Authors
  1. Siegfried Scherer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Scherer, S. Could life have arisen in the primitive atmosphere?. J Mol Evol 22, 91–94 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02105809

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02105809

Key words

Search

Navigation