Thermolysis

@article{greisheimer1931glycogen,
    author = "Greisheimer, E. M. and Arny, F. P.",
    title = "Glycogen Formation from Amino Acids.",
    year = "1931",
    journal = "Experimental Biology and Medicine",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.3181/00379727-28-5587",
    doi = "10.3181/00379727-28-5587",
    number = "9",
    pages = "894-896",
    volume = "28"
}

@article{maengwyndavies1967the,
    author = "Maengwyn‐Davies, Gertrude D. and Oroszlan, Stephen I.",
    title = "THE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS OF COMPLEX FORMATION OF ATROPINE WITH AMINO ACIDS AND AMINES*",
    year = "1967",
    journal = "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1967.tb53813.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1749-6632.1967.tb53813.x",
    number = "2",
    pages = "819-837",
    volume = "144"
}

@article{goudie1971thermolysis,
    author = "Goudie, R. S. and Preston, P. N.",
    title = "Thermolysis of N-O-nitrophenyl- and N-2,4-dinitrophenyl-α-amino-acids",
    year = "1971",
    journal = "J. Chem. Soc. C",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1039/j39710001139",
    doi = "10.1039/j39710001139",
    number = "0",
    pages = "1139-1142",
    volume = "0"
}

The thermal polymerization of amino-acid mixtures was studied at various temperatures and reaction times with specific emphasis on the formation of fluorescent chromophores. The reaction conditions appeared to have a pronounced effect on the ratio of synthesized chromophores and biuret-positive material. During thermolysis of equimolar mixtures of lysine, alanine and glycine or lysine, aspartic acid and glycine small amounts of pteridines and flavines are formed, which are often covalently linked to the thermal oligomer. These heterocyclic compounds are likely formed by condensation reactions of the amino acid break-down and conversion products. Reaction schemes that describe the processes are proposed. The significance of these chromoproteinoids is discussed in respect to prebiotic redox reactions and photoinduced processes.

@article{doi1010160303264781900198,
    author = "Heinz, B and Ried, W",
    title = "The formation of chromophores through amino acid thermolysis and their possible role as prebiotic photoreceptors.",
    year = "1981",
    journal = "Bio Systems",
    abstract = "The thermal polymerization of amino-acid mixtures was studied at various temperatures and reaction times with specific emphasis on the formation of fluorescent chromophores. The reaction conditions appeared to have a pronounced effect on the ratio of synthesized chromophores and biuret-positive material. During thermolysis of equimolar mixtures of lysine, alanine and glycine or lysine, aspartic acid and glycine small amounts of pteridines and flavines are formed, which are often covalently linked to the thermal oligomer. These heterocyclic compounds are likely formed by condensation reactions of the amino acid break-down and conversion products. Reaction schemes that describe the processes are proposed. The significance of these chromoproteinoids is discussed in respect to prebiotic redox reactions and photoinduced processes.",
    url = "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7272469/",
    doi = "10.1016/0303-2647(81)90019-8",
    pmid = "7272469"
}

@article{heinz1981the,
    author = "Heinz, B. and Ried, W.",
    title = "The formation of chromophores through amino acid thermolysis and their possible role as prebiotic photoreceptors",
    year = "1981",
    journal = "Biosystems",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/0303-2647(81)90019-8",
    doi = "10.1016/0303-2647(81)90019-8",
    number = "1",
    pages = "33-40",
    volume = "14"
}

@misc{heinz1981the1,
    author = "Heinz, B. and Ried, W",
    title = "The formation of chromophores through amino acids thermolysis and their possible role as prebiotic photoreceptors",
    year = "1981",
    howpublished = "BioSystems, v. 14, p. 33-40",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Heinz, B., and Ried, W., 1981, The formation of chromophores through amino acids thermolysis and their possible role as prebiotic photoreceptors: BioSystems, v. 14, p. 33-40.}"
}

@article{copenhagen1989release,
    author = "Copenhagen, David R. and Jahr, Craig E.",
    title = "Release of endogenous excitatory amino acids from turtle photoreceptors",
    year = "1989",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/341536a0",
    doi = "10.1038/341536a0",
    number = "6242",
    pages = "536-539",
    volume = "341"
}

@article{crossref2009glycogen,
    title = "Glycogen Formation From Amino Acids",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Nutrition Reviews",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.1951.tb02522.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1753-4887.1951.tb02522.x",
    number = "11",
    pages = "328-329",
    volume = "9"
}

@article{tseng2010photostability,
    author = "Tseng, Chien-Ming and Lin, Ming-Fu and Yang, Yi Lin and Ho, Yu Chieh and Ni, Chi-Kung and Chang, Jia-Lin",
    title = "Photostability of amino acids: photodissociation dynamics of phenylalanine chromophores",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1039/b925338f",
    doi = "10.1039/b925338f",
    number = "19",
    pages = "4989",
    volume = "12"
}

This paper presents a hypothesis that can explain why similar essential amino acids requirements have been conserved among all heterotrophic eukaryotes. In an analysis of a food composition table, the first principal component of the amino acid compositions of daily foods was found to separate essential and non-essential amino acids. Regarding all foods from eukaryotes, this finding indicate that all eukaryotes have common components rich in essential amino acids. Previous studies have indicated that yeast, a eukaryote, can use its cytoplasmic components as a primary source of amino acids by autophagy, and all terrestrial organism cells showed similar amino acid compositions. If all eukaryotic cells depend on their cytoplasmic components as primary amino acid sources and if all eukaryotes maintain them rich in essential amino acids, it would be reasonable for heterotrophic eukaryotes to have lost the need to synthesize amino acids that are already stored inside their cells.

@misc{esumi2020autophagy,
    author = "Esumi, Genshiro",
    title = "Autophagy: possible origin of essential amino acids",
    year = "2020",
    abstract = "This paper presents a hypothesis that can explain why similar essential amino acids requirements have been conserved among all heterotrophic eukaryotes. In an analysis of a food composition table, the first principal component of the amino acid compositions of daily foods was found to separate essential and non-essential amino acids. Regarding all foods from eukaryotes, this finding indicate that all eukaryotes have common components rich in essential amino acids. Previous studies have indicated that yeast, a eukaryote, can use its cytoplasmic components as a primary source of amino acids by autophagy, and all terrestrial organism cells showed similar amino acid compositions. If all eukaryotic cells depend on their cytoplasmic components as primary amino acid sources and if all eukaryotes maintain them rich in essential amino acids, it would be reasonable for heterotrophic eukaryotes to have lost the need to synthesize amino acids that are already stored inside their cells.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2020-lll03",
    doi = "10.33774/coe-2020-lll03"
}

The chemical evolution of amino acids, especially sulfur-containing ones, requires appropriate conditions and natural sources to provide starting prebiotic compounds. In the present study hydrothermal vents, volcanoes and oceans were chosen as a plausible environment, where prebiotic reactions take place. The suggested reaction network starts only with three compounds – water, hydrogen cyanide/formamide and hydrogen sulfide. The present study suggests one-pot hydrothermal experiment in laboratory conditions to demonstrate some vital prebiotic precursors formation. The reaction pathways from starting molecules to amino acids were modelled at SCS-MP2/cc-pVDZ/SMD level of the theory. The calculated energetic characteristics facilitate the determination of the plausible reaction pathways for amino acids – glycine, serine and alanine, along with sulfur-containing ones – cysteine and homocysteine under hydrothermal scenario.

@article{slavova2025hydrothermal,
    author = "Slavova, Sofia and Stoyanova, Nina and Harizanova, Sonya and Dincheva, Ivayla and Rusanova, Mila and Ivanovska, Sofiya and Enchev, Venelin",
    title = "Hydrothermal Scenario for Amino Acids and Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids Formation",
    year = "2025",
    journal = "Acta Chimica Slovenica",
    abstract = "The chemical evolution of amino acids, especially sulfur-containing ones, requires appropriate conditions and natural sources to provide starting prebiotic compounds. In the present study hydrothermal vents, volcanoes and oceans were chosen as a plausible environment, where prebiotic reactions take place. The suggested reaction network starts only with three compounds – water, hydrogen cyanide/formamide and hydrogen sulfide. The present study suggests one-pot hydrothermal experiment in laboratory conditions to demonstrate some vital prebiotic precursors formation. The reaction pathways from starting molecules to amino acids were modelled at SCS-MP2/cc-pVDZ/SMD level of the theory. The calculated energetic characteristics facilitate the determination of the plausible reaction pathways for amino acids – glycine, serine and alanine, along with sulfur-containing ones – cysteine and homocysteine under hydrothermal scenario.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.17344/acsi.2024.9098",
    doi = "10.17344/acsi.2024.9098",
    number = "1",
    pages = "205-216",
    volume = "72"
}