A research group led by Assistant Professor Tsubasa Otake and Professor Takeshi Kakegawa at Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, in collaboration with a research group led by Group Leader Takashi Taniguchi and Emeritus Fellow Hiromoto Nakazawa at National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), has conducted amino acid oligomerization experiments under high temperature and pressure conditions, and has revealed that peptides, which constitute proteins, are produced from simple aminoacids (glycine or alanine).

 Through synthetic organic experiments examining the origin of life, the formation mechanisms of simple organic materials have been gradually elucidated so far. However, the evolutionary process of these organic materials on the primitive Earth has remained to be explained. In the present experiments, we have successfully produced more complex polymer molecules than ever in the absence of a catalyst. The results of the experiments also indicate that high concentrations of ammonia in high pressure environments play an important role for stabilizing amino acids and peptides.

 These results suggest that the materials which may be precursors of proteins were produced under the seafloor of the primitive Earth. The present study supports a theory that, after the ocean appeared on the early earth, simple organic materials concentrated in the sub-seafloor sediments and evolved into more complex organic materials in the process of lithification and dehydration of marine sediments.

 The research result will be published online in Astrobiology soon. The paper's title is "Stability of amino acids and their oligomerization under high-pressure conditions: implications for prebiotic chemistry".

More information (Japanese)

[Contact]

(About the research)

Department of Earth Science

Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University

 Professor Takeshi Kakegawa

 E-mail: kakegawa*m.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

 TEL: +81-22-795-6660

 Assistant Professor Tsubasa Otake

 E-mail: totake*m.tohoku.ac.jp, tsubasa283otake*gmail.com (Replace * with @)

 TEL: +81-22-795-3453

Ultra-High Pressure Processes Group

Material Processing Unit, Advanced Key Technologies Division

National Institute for Materials Science

 Group Leader Takashi Taniguchi

 E-mail: TANIGUCHI.Takashi@nims.go.jp (Replace * with @) 　

 TEL: +81-29-860-4413

 Emeritus Fellow Hiromoto Nakazawa

 E-mail: NAKAZAWA.Hiromoto*nims.go.jp (Replace * with @)

 TEL: +81-29-860-4302

[Public Relations]

Public Relations office of Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University

TEL: +81-22-795-6708　

E-mail: sci-koho*mail.sci.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

Public Relations office, National Institute for Materials Science

TEL: +81-29-859-2026　

E-mail: pr*nims.go.jp (Replace * with @)