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The astrochemical evolutionary traits of phospholipid membrane homochirality

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 8, pages 652–664 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Compartmentalization is crucial for the evolution of life. Present-day phospholipid membranes exhibit a high level of complexity and species-dependent homochirality, the so-called lipid divide. It is possible that less stable, yet more dynamic systems, promoting out-of-equilibrium environments, facilitated the evolution of life at its early stages. The composition of the preceding primitive membranes and the evolutionary route towards complexity and homochirality remain unexplained. Organics-rich carbonaceous chondrites are evidence of the ample diversity of interstellar chemistry, which may have enriched the prebiotic milieu on early Earth. This Review evaluates the detections of simple amphiphiles — likely ancestors of membrane phospholipids — in extraterrestrial samples and analogues, along with potential pathways to form primitive compartments on primeval Earth. The chiroptical properties of the chiral backbones of phospholipids provide a guide for future investigations into the origins of phospholipid membrane homochirality. We highlight a plausible common pathway towards homochirality of lipids, amino acids, and sugars starting from enantioenriched monomers. Finally, given their high recalcitrance and resistance to degradation, lipids are among the best candidate biomarkers in exobiology.

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Fig. 1: Schematic timeline of the geological longevity of major molecular biosignatures.
Fig. 2: The membrane lipid divide.
Fig. 3: Schematic structures of a selection of simple amphiphiles.
Fig. 4: Chiroptical properties of stereospecifically numbered sn-glycerol-1-phosphate lithium salt and d-glyceraldehyde-3-phoshate.
Fig. 5: Schematic illustrating a potential pathway from enantioenriched amphiphiles towards the build-up of homochiral phospholipid membranes and proto-peptides.
Fig. 6: Schematics illustrating two conceptual space missions that could enable the identification of potential extraterrestrial lipids.

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Acknowledgements

This project received financial support from the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) through the Mission for Transversal and Interdisciplinary Initiatives (MITI), the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation and the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement 804144). Further funding was provided by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement numbers 101004806 (MOSBRI) and 730872 (CALIPSOplus). J.B. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).

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  1. Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Jana Bocková & Cornelia Meinert

  2. ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Nykola C. Jones & Søren V. Hoffmann

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Bocková, J., Jones, N.C., Hoffmann, S.V. et al. The astrochemical evolutionary traits of phospholipid membrane homochirality. Nat Rev Chem 8, 652–664 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-024-00627-w

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