The Origin of Life

Spontaneous Generation Chemical Evolution

To question that beetles and wasps were generated in cow dung is to question reason, sense, and experience. - Ross, English naturalist

CORE CONCEPT # 1 The hypothesis of spontaneous generation states that life can arise from nonliving matter. Supported by observations

Pile of grain

Mice

Cattle carcass

Beetles

Rotting meat

Flies

CORE CONCEPT # 1 The hypothesis of spontaneous generation states that life can arise from nonliving matter. Supported by experiments

CORE CONCEPT # 2 The theory of biogenesis states that life comes only from life. Supported by observations

CORE CONCEPT # 2 The theory of biogenesis states that life comes only from life. Supported by experiments

CORE CONCEPT # 2 The theory of biogenesis states that life comes only from life. Supported by experiments

CORE CONCEPT # 2 The theory of biogenesis states that life comes only from life. Supported by experiments

If life can come only from life, how did life on Earth first arise?

History of the Earth

Analogy of a clock: major events in Earths history in the context of geological records

Early conditions on Earth (~4.6 BYA)

temp, volcanic activity, earthquakes, meteor showers

Early atmosphere
H2O, CO, CO2, H2, N2, NH3, CH4 No O2! from volcanic eruptions, meteorites

History of the Earth

Analogy of a clock: major events in Earths history in the context of geological records

Earliest evidence of life: microfossils (~3.5 BYA)

Outlines of ancient prokaryotes, similar to modern bacteria

CORE CONCEPT # 3 One hypothesis about the origin of life is based on a four-stage chemical evolution. 1. Abiotic synthesis of organic monomers
nonliving putting together C-based building blocks

1920s: Oparin and Haldane

Hypothesis: conditions on primitive Earth favored cheml rxns that synthesized org. cpds. from inorg. cpds.

1953: Miller and Urey

Tested Oparin & Haldanes hypothesis Demonstrated abiotic synthesis of aa and other org. cpds. found in living organisms today

CORE CONCEPT # 3 One hypothesis about the origin of life is based on a four-stage chemical evolution. 1. Abiotic synthesis of organic monomers
nonliving putting together C-based building blocks

1920s: Oparin and Haldane

Hypothesis: conditions on primitive Earth favored cheml rxns that synthesized org. cpds. from inorg. cpds.

1953: Miller and Urey

Tested Oparin & Haldanes hypothesis Demonstrated abiotic synthesis of aa and other org. cpds. found in living organisms today

CORE CONCEPT # 3 One hypothesis about the origin of life is based on a four-stage chemical evolution. 2. Abiotic synthesis of polymers
large, complex molecules

Fox
Produced proteinoids from clay + org. monomers proteins produced by abiotic means

substrate for polymerization

CORE CONCEPT # 3 One hypothesis about the origin of life is based on a four-stage chemical evolution. 3. Abiotic synthesis of protobionts
aggregates of abiotically produced molecules not yet capable of precise reproduction able to maintain an internal cheml envt different from the surroundings exhibits some properties associated w/ life, including metabolism and irritability
Proteinoids + cold H2O = self assemble into droplet microspheres Liposomes: a solution containing some lipids will self assemble into a lipid bilayer

Suggests how first cells may have begun to form

CORE CONCEPT # 3 One hypothesis about the origin of life is based on a four-stage chemical evolution. 4. Origin of genetic info
The first genes may have been abiotically produced RNA

1968: Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel

Hypothesized that RNA, rather than DNA functioned as lifes first information storage system

G. Cairns-Smith and J. Bernal

Showed that AA and nucleotides stick to repeating structures of clay crystals

History of the Earth

Analogy of a clock: major events in Earths history in the context of geological records Earliest evidence of life: microfossils (~3.5 BYA)
Outlines of ancient prokaryotes, similar to modern bacteria The first true cells? Origin uncertain Possible characteristics: Prokaryotes Heterotrophs Anaerobes

Evolution of living organisms

Accumulation of atmospheric O2
Due to photosynthesis * stromatolites: layered, matlike formations formed by autotrophic bacteria

Evolution of living organisms

First eukaryotes (~1.5 BYA)

First multicellular organisms (~650 MYA)

Evolution of living organisms

Trends in evolution
Cells: unicellular multicellular Nutrition: heterotrophs autotrophs Reproduction: asexual sexual

Life from nonlife?

If life did arise from nonlife billions of years ago, why couldnt it happen again?
Conditions on Earth billions of years ago:
No bacteria to break down org. cpds. No O2 to react w/ org. cpds. Org. cpds. accumulated

Today: org. cpds. cannot remain intact long enough to give life another start

Suggested Viewing
The Origin of Life Made Easy
(by potholer54 on YouTube)

The Origin of Life (National Geographic)

(slideshow based on the March 1998 National Geographic Magazine)

References
Main reference Miller, K.R. and Levine, J. (1995). Biology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Other references
Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2004). Biology (7th ed.). Menlo Park, California: Benjamin Cummings. Miller, K.R. and Levine, J. (2002). Biology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Solomon, E.P., Berg, L.R., Martin, D.W., and Villee, C. (1993). Biology (3rd ed.). Fort Worth: Saunders College Publishing.

Image credits
Slide 2 Cow dung: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/CowPieJeffVanuga.JPG Slide 3 Pile of grain: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/88310727/Brand-X-Pictures Mice: http://davispestcontrol.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/071022vibrating-mice_big.68120114_std.jpg Cattle carcass: http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/files/2009/08/dead-cow-inkitengela.jpg Carcass beetle: http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/beetles/trogidae/images/isa196_5_327w. jpg Rotting meat: http://www.compostthis.co.uk/images/items/44.jpg Fly on meat: http://www.bayerhome.co.za/media/SchoolProjects/flyOnMeat.jpg

Image credits
Slides 4, 7 Flask: http://www.clker.com/clipart-26080.html Flame: http://www.clker.com/cliparts/8/9/e/4/12170845631587244963flame.svg.thu mb.png Slide 4 John Needham: http://benitobios.blogspot.com/2007/08/generacinespontnea.html

Slide 5 Family: https://www.usrschoolsk8.com/staff/reynolds/kindergarten/jlevitt/images/fam ily_clipart_300.jpg Puppies: http://www.fotosearch.com/image-zoo/individuality/IMZ412/

Image credits
Slide 6 Meat: http://informationcentral0.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ meat.jpg Flies: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/posta_kels/fly%202.gif Maggot: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/58000/58055/58055_corn_maggot.htm Redi: http://caibco.ucv.ve/caibco/vitae/VitaeVeinticuatro/MedicinaenelTiempo/Arch ivosHtml/observacion.htm Slide 7 Flask: http://www.clker.com/clipart-26080.html Flame: http://www.clker.com/cliparts/8/9/e/4/12170845631587244963flame.svg.thu mb.png Lazzarro Spallanzani: http://www.scientificweb.com/en/Biology/Biographies/LazzaroSpallanzani01.html

Image credits
Slide 8 Pasteurs experiment: http://www.microbiologybytes.com/introduction/graphics/History2.gif Louis Pasteur: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Pasteur,_foto_av_F%C3%A9lix_ Nadar.jpg Slide 9 Earth question mark: http://s3.amazonaws.com/pixmac-thumbnail/earthdisplayed-on-question-mark.jpg Slides 10, 11, 17-20 Earths history: http://bio1151.nicerweb.com/doc/class/bio1151/Locked/media/ch26/26_10Ea rthHistoryClock_L.jpg

Image credits
Slide 12 Oparin: http://www.upch.edu.pe/facien/dcbf/histbio/oparin.jpg Haldane: http://limjunying.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jbshaldane.jpg Miller: http://www.elcorreodigital.com/vizcaya/Media/200705/22/stanley_miller-200x250.jpg Urey: http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Te-Va/Urey-Harold.html Slide 13 Miller-Urey experiment: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/static.php?ref=diploma-4 Slide 14 Protobionts: http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/ch8life.html Sidney Fox: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Fox Slide 15 Microspheres and liposomes: http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/ch8life.html

Image credits
Slide 16 Francis Crick: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francis_Crick.png Leslie Orgel: http://www.salk.edu/insidesalk/article.php?id=53 G. Cairns-Smith: http://originoflife.net/cairns_smith/index.html J. D. Bernal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Desmond_Bernal Slide 18 Stromatolites: Biology by Campbell Slide 21 Early Earth: Biology by Campbell

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