Nucleobase synthesis in interstellar ices.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31562325.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-12404-1 and PMC identifier 6764953.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The synthesis of nucleobases in natural environments, especially in interstellar molecular clouds, is the focus of a long-standing debate regarding prebiotic chemical evolution. Here we report the simultaneous detection of all three pyrimidine (cytosine, uracil and thymine) and three purine nucleobases (adenine, xanthine and hypoxanthine) in interstellar ice analogues composed of simple molecules including H<sub>2</sub>O, CO, NH<sub>3</sub> and CH<sub>3</sub>OH after exposure to ultraviolet photons followed by thermal processes, that is, in conditions that simulate the chemical processes accompanying star formation from molecular clouds. Photolysis of primitive gas molecules at 10 K might be one of the key steps in the production of nucleobases. The present results strongly suggest that the evolution from molecular clouds to stars and planets provides a suitable environment for nucleobase synthesis in space.
Medical subject headings
- Adenine
- Cytosine
- Hypoxanthine
- Thymine
- Uracil
- Xanthine