Cyclophospholipids Increase Protocellular Stability to Metal Ions

Abstract

Model protocells have long been constructed with fatty acids, because these lipids are prebiotically plausible and can, at least theoretically, support a protocell life cycle. However, fatty acid protocells are stable only within a narrow range of pH and metal ion concentration. This instability is particularly problematic as the early Earth would have had a range of conditions, and extant life is completely reliant on metal ions for catalysis and the folding and activity of biological polymers. Here, prebiotically plausible monoacyl cyclophospholipids are shown to form robust vesicles that survive a broad range of pH and high concentrations of Mg²⁺ , Ca²⁺ , and Na⁺ . Importantly, stability to Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ is improved by the presence of environmental concentrations of Na⁺ . These results suggest that cyclophospholipids, or lipids with similar characteristics, may have played a central role during the emergence of Darwinian evolution.

Keywords: lipids; origins of life; prebiotic chemistry; protocells; vesicles.