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Faculty Publications and Presentations Department of Biology and Chemistry

2000

Theories of the Origin and Early Evolution of Life

David A. DeWitt
Liberty University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation
DeWitt, David A., "Theories of the Origin and Early Evolution of Life" (2000). Faculty Publications and
Presentations. 93.
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 T
tect the animals and their habitats, and to pro- Further Reading
Life mote a sense of stewardship of the environment.
Books
Sciences Goodall's Roots and Shoots children's program,
Fossey, D. Gorillas in the Mist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
for example, promotes environmental education 1983.
1950-present and compassion toward the Earths living things.
Goodall,]. The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behav-
She originally began the program in the hopes of ior. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.
influencing young people in Africa. The pro-
Stone, L. Kinship and Gender. Boulder: Westview Press,
gram qUickly spread and now has chapters Harper-Collins, 1997.
worldwide. Goodall has also been influential in
establishing wildlife sanctuaries in Africa, in- Periodical Articles
cluding one in Congo and another in Uganda. Bower, B. "Monkeys Provide Models of Child Abuse." Sci-
ence News (23 May 1998): 324.
Fossey's research and educational efforts were
instrumental in gaining governmental protection de Waal , E "Bonobo Sex and SOCiety" SCientific Amelican
(March 1995): 82-88.
for mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
Galdikas, B. "Waiting for Orangutans." Discover (Decem-
These sanctuaries, along with habitat protec- ber 1994): 100-106.
tion and educational efforts, will help ensure that
Miller, P. "Crusading for Chimps and Humans ... Jane Goodall."
primatologists can continue to study the Great National Geographic (December 1995): 102-129.
Apes for years to come, and to learn whether hu-
mans and other primates are as closely related Other
behaviorally as they are genetically McCarthy, s. "Jane Goodall: The Hopeful Messenger."
http://www.salon.comlpeoplelfeaturel1999/1 0/2 7/rea
LESLIE A. MERTZ son!

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may be prot~t 'lis Malena;
Theories of the Oriiti\'· (ntle 1~by COPyright
and Early Evolution of Life S COde)

Overview separated them from non-living things. Wohlers

discovery suggested that life forms, like non-liv-
After the theory of spontaneous generation was
ing forms, were composed of molecules that obey
discredited, only religious explanations were of-
the laws of chemistry and physics. Further, it
fered to explain the origin of life. Alexander
might be possible to produce other molecules of
Oparin (1894-1980), an atheist, suggested that
life by experimental or natural means.
natural chemical reactions produced biological
molecules that came together to form the first liv- Around the time that Charles Darwin
ing thing. Later, Stanley Miller tested this hypoth- 0809-1882) proposed his theory of evolution
esis and produced chemical "building blocks" but by natural selection (1859), two other scientists,
not life itself. In spite of much progress, there is RudolfVirchow (1821-1902) and louis Pasteur
still no clear consensus on how life originated on (1822-1895) showed that another commonly
Earth. Some scientists are even looking to outer held theory was false. Spontaneous generation is
space for the origin of life. the term that describes the formation of living
things from non-living starting material. Scien-
tists believed that worms, insects, mice, and mi-
Background croscopic organisms simply "arose" from decay-
ing meat, grain, broth, or even dirty underwear.
The first scientist to synthesize a molecule nor-
The theory seemed reasonable at the time be-
mally produced by living organisms was Friedrich
cause no one had any idea of the compleXity or
Wohler (1800-1882). In 1828, he accidentally
the multitude of interactive molecules that make
made urea by heating ammonium cyanate. This
up even the Simplest bacteria. For them, a cell
finding helped dispel a theory known as "vital-
was only "protoplasm," not much more compli-
ism," which taught that living things and their
cated than gelatin.
components possessed a "vital force." At the time,
scientists believed that living things consisted of Pasteur and Virchow discredited sponta-
"organic matter" driven by that vital force which neous generation and laid the gr6undwork for

SCIENCE AND ITS TIM E 5 VOLUME 7

the biogenic law which asserts that life comes acids are syntheSized, a mixture of right- and
only from life.. This principle became a key com- left-handed molecule,S are produced. However, Life
ponent of the cell theory: every cell is made only the left-handed version is found in pro- Sciences
from a pre-existing cell. The implication of their teins. When carbohydrates are produced, many
work was that only God could have created the different sugars are made. However, the ribose 1950-present
first life that would subsequently reproduce. and deoxyribose found in nucleotides are not
Their demonstration was so effective that it vir- made in appreciable amounts. Polymerization of
tually prevented any research on the origin of amino acids into proteins and nucleotides into
life for decades. RNA and DNA is also a problem. Even then,
these molecules are not liVing-they cannot re-
In the 1920s, a Russian chemist named
produce themselves, carry out metabolism, and
Alexander Oparin coined the term "primordial
lack a boundary
soup" and suggested that the building blocks of
life could spontaneously form and then coalesce Later, Sydney Fox heated amino acids and
together to form the first living cell. In his view, they reacted together to form "proteinoids." Un-
the basic components of cells (lipids, carbohy- like normal proteins which are linear polymers
drates, amino acids) aggregate together, forming of amino acids linked by peptide bonds, the pro-
what he called "coacervates." Presumably, these teinoids were branched polymers with both pep-
coacervates would eventually carry out rudi- tide and non-peptide bonds. The proteinoids
mentary metabolism and some would repro- could aggregate into microspheres and absorb
duce. Oparin also proposed that the atmosphere various molecules. The aggregates were ob-
of the early Earth differed from the present one served to enlarge and split into smaller frag-
by having reducing gases such as hydrogen, ments, although this could hardly be called re-
methane, and ammonia in abundance. The production.
British physiologist].B.S. Haldane (1892-1964)
As scientists began to unravel how the
independently concurred with Oparin, propos-
amino acid sequence of proteins is coded for in
ing that oxygen was absent during the origin of
DNA and how DNA is replicated, there arose a
life because it would have prevented the forma-
paradox. The sequence of amino acids in a pro-
tion of important organic molecules. This as-
tein is not random but determined by the exact
sumption about the atmosphere was not based
sequence of nucleotides in DNA. Therefore, a
on experimental evidence but on an understand-
meaningful DNA sequence is required to pro-
ing of the requirements for producing the de-
duce a functional protein. However, proteins
sired molecules.
and enzymes are necessary in the replication of
Oparin's hypothesis was tested in the early DNA, the transcription of mRNA, and the pro-
1950s by Stanley Miller, a graduate student in duction of the nucleotides themselves. A con-
Harold Urey's (1893-1981) laboratory, at the ceptual difficulty arose because one could not
University of Chicago. Miller designed an appa- start life with either proteins or DNA since each
ratus that would simulate a reducing atmosphere is so dependent on the other.
and the presumed conditions of the early Earth.
The conundrum was apparently resolved by
He used a spark discharge to mimic lightning
Walter Gilbert (1932- ), who proposed that life
and proVide the energy required for the organic
originated in an "RNA world." He suggested that
syntheSiS reactions. Millers chamber lacked oxy-
the first living things consisted solely of RNA-
gen because this gas would prevent the forma-
that proteins and DNA were later developments.
tion of the desired molecules. In a short time,
This was based on the observation that proteins
Miller found that the chamber produced 13 of
are translated from mRNA with the help of tRNA
the 20 amino acids found in proteins. Variations
and rRNA. Scientists also found that RNA could
of this type of experiment were later shown to
be reverse transcribed into DNA, a process car-
produce carbohydrates and the nitrogen-contain-
ried out by the HIV virus. Further, certain RNA
ing bases of nucleotides found in DNA and RNA.
called ribozymes carry out limited catalytic ac-
The work of Urey and Miller was hailed as pro-
tivities like enzymes. RNA, then, appears to have
ducing the "building blocks of life."
the perfect combination of features to be the first
However, producing such "building blocks" molecules of life. However, the relative instabili-
is not the same as producing life and was not ty: of nucleotides at high temperatures, the lack
qualitatively different than Wohler syntheSizing of appreciable ribose, and the inability for RNA
urea. Chemical synthesis of bUilding blocks is to replicate itself pose serious problems for this
complicated by several factors. When amino hypothesis. Therefore, some scientists are sug-

SCIENCE AND ITS TIM E S VOLUME 7

 gesting a pre-RNA world that would later give pothesis to explain the origin of organelles, in-
Lift rise to the RNA world. They have proposed clay cluding the mitochondria. According to this view,
Sciences to serve in this role. the mitochondria and other organelles were once
bacteria that were internalized by. another larger
However the first living cell arose, it must
1950-present cell. Since the mitochondria, for example could
have done so very qUickly. Many scientists be-
use oxygen to produce energy, this gave an advan-
lieve that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old
tage to the cell that protected it. The endosym-
and that the Earth would be much too hot to
biont hypothesis has been Widely accepted, al-
support life until about 4 billion years ago. J.
though recent data on protein targeting suggests
William Schopf described fossil bacteria found
the origin of organelles may not be so Simple.
in structures called stromatolites that according
to radiometric dating were 3.5-3.8 billion years
old. These microfossils, apparently a type of fila-
Impact
mentous blue-green algae found in pre-Cambri-
an rocks, are supposedly the oldest fossil evi- Once Pasteur and Virchow discredited the theo-
dence of life on Earth. If these assumptions are ry of spontaneous generation it became difficult
correct, this would imply that life appeared on to discuss the origin of life outside a theological
Earth as soon as it possibly could since a consid- context. Scientists conducted research on evolu-
erable amount of time would seem necessary be- tion but not on the origin of life until Oparin re-
tween the origin of life and the formation of the opened the field. Because Oparin was in Soviet
complex cells in the stromatolites. Russia, a nation committed to atheism, he was
able to develop a naturalistic theory for origin of
Early scientists classified living things into life. One could also argue that his commitment
basically two categories: plant and animal. As to atheism forced him to devise an origin of life
more types of organisms were discovered it be- consistent with that view. Nonetheless, Oparins
came clear that this type of classification was in-
work paved the way for Stanley Miller.
adequate. Robert Whittaker developed the five
kingdom classification system. Monera is the The elegance and simplicity of the work by
kingdom for bacteria and prokaryotic cells. Pro- Stanley Miller prodUCing amino acids from a
tista consists mostly of Single-celled eukaryotic gaseous mixture has dominated the field of ori-
organisms with some colonial forms included. gin of life research for decades. Although scien-
The remaining three kingdoms, plant, fungi, and tists now question his choice of starting material
animal, are all multicellular eukaryotes. and debate the conditions of the early Earth,
they have been slow to offer a better alternative.
Such a system appears to reflect evolution
Therefore, Millers experiment continues to play
since bacteria are the Simplest organisms fol-
a prominent role in textbooks in spite of the dif-
lowed by protists. Plants, fungi, and animals are
ficulties with it. Some have suggested life arose
more complicated and arguably eqUidistant from
in deep sea vents in the ocean or in lagoons near
the other two kingdoms. The discovery of
volcanoes instead of in the atmosphere. The
Archeans has complicated this scenario. These
most radical suggestion is that the molecules of
cells, found in harsh conditions such as high salt
life, or even life itself, was carried to Earth from
and very high temperatures, were initially be-
outer space, a theory called panspermia.
lieved to be the first cells and led to true bacteria
later. But upon further study, they are in many If life could arise by natural processes on
ways more similar to the eukaryotic kingdoms Earth, then some suggest the same conditions
than they are to true bacteria, except that they and processes may occur elsewhere as well. In
are prokaryotes. 1969, a meteorite was found to contain organic
compounds including the same amino acids in a
Eukaryotic cells share many features in com-
similar ratio to Miller's experiment. This obser-
mon in spite of their differences. They have
vation has provided hope to the possibility of
membrane-bound organelles such as the nucleus
finding life on another planet. The desire to un-
and mitochondria while prokaryotic cells lack
derstand the origin of life has helped to fuel the
them. The origin of these subcellular structure? is
SET! (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
unknown, since it has been established that a cell
project in spite of the current lack of evidence
cannot simply "create" them once they have been
for extraterrestrial life.
lost. During cell division, the components of the
organelles or the organelles themselves are divid- Theories of the origin of life are likely to re-·
ed between the two daughter cells. Lynn Mar- main controversial because uncertainty will al-
gulis (I938- ) proposed the endosymbiont hy- ways remain. If scientists do crea·te life in the

SCIENCE AND ITS T f M E S VOLUME 7

lab, it would still not prove that such a process joyce, Gerald F. "RNA Evolution and the Origins of Life."
occurred in the past. Nature 338 (1989): 217-224. Life
DAVID A. DEWITI
McClendon,john H. "The Origin of Life" Earth-Science Sciences
Reviews 47 (1999): 71-93.
Miller, S. L. "A Production of Amino Acids under Possi- 1950-present
Further Reading ble Primitive Earth Conditions." Science 117 (1953):
528-529.
Books Orgel, Leslie. "The Origin of Life: A Review of Facts and
Margulis, Lynn and Dorian Sagan. What is Life? New Speculations." Trends in Biochemical Sciences (1998):
York: Simon &: Schuster, 1995. 491-495.
Miller, Stanley L. and Leslie E. Orgel. The Origins of Life Shapiro, Robert. "Prebiotic Ribose Synthesis: A Critical
on Earth. New jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1974. Analysis." Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere
Schopf, j.W "Archean Microfossils: New Evidence of An- 18 (1988): 71-85.
cient Microbes," in Earth's Earliest Biosphere. New jer-
Shapiro, Robert. "Prebiotic Cytosine Synthesis: A Critical
sey: Princeton University Press, 1983.
Analysis and Implications for the Origin of Life." Pro-
ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96 (1999):
Periodical Articles
4396-4401.
Duve, Christian de. "The Beginnings of Life on Earth."
American Scientist 83, no. 5 (September/October Woese, C.R. "Archaebacteria." Scientific American 244
1995). (1981): 98-122.

Cracking the Genetic Code

Overview Background
"Cracking" the genetic code was one of the most A few scientists in the 1800s argued that the na-
exciting discoveries of the twentieth century. Al- ture of living organisms could be reduced to
though philosophers and early scientists had basic chemistry and physics. Most were resigned
long pondered the nature of inheritance, it was to the prospect that the mystery of life and its
not until 1953 that James Watson (1928-) and mechanisms would never be solved. While a
Francis Crick (1916-) announced that they had Swiss scientist in 1869 isolated the chemical
determined that the code for life resides in the DNA from pus cells, he did not recognize the
molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid importance of his finding.
(DNA). This announcement began a frenzy of
investigation that still continues today. One of At the beginning of the twentieth century,
the hottest topics in science at the end of the scientists had determined that nucleic acids were
twentieth century is molecular biology. in all cells. likewise, they knew that cells had
three key ingredients: a ribose or deoxyribose
Many scientists have added to the knowl- sugar, a phosphate, and bases made of nitrogen
edge of the genetic code. In 1955 Mahlon B. and carbon. In 1938 Warren Weaver used the
Hoagland (1921- ) isolated transfer ribonucleic term "molecular biology" for the first time in an
acid (tRNA) while Robert Holley (1922-1993) annual report to the Trustees of the Rockefeller
described the complete structure of tRNA in Foundation. The foundation was supporting re-
1965. In 1956 George Palade (1912- ), work- search into x-ray crystallography, which became
ing with the small structures (organelles) with- instrumental in cracking the genetic code.
in the cytoplasm of the cell, discovered ribo-
somes, the protein factories of the cell. In 1967 The 1940s, including the events of World
Charles Yanofsky (1927- ) and Sydney Brenner War II, encouraged a new frenzy of scientific
(1927- ) described the organization of base thinking that led to exciting discoveries in many
groups that make up a protein. Marshall Niren- fields, ranging from nuclear physics to biochem-
berg (1912- ) and his team cracked the genetic istry. In 1944 O.T. Avery 0877-1955) and his
code with a description of how the base pairs colleagues identified a substance, named de-
are related to twenty amino acids. These scien- OXyribonucleic acid, that was able to change one
tists laid the foundation for biotechnology and strain of bacteria into another. The science of
genetic engineering. molecular biology was built on the work of sci-

SCIENCE AND ITS TIM E S VOLUME 7