The Phosphoenolpyruvate Phosphorylation: A Self-Organized Mechanism with Implications to Understand the RNA Transformations

In this article, we present a study about the non-enzymatic hydrolysis of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by following the reaction course through 31P NMR spectroscopy. We have demonstrated that PEP in water exists mainly as a very stable cyclic pentacoordinate phosphorus compound in equilibrium with other cyclic forms. This explains the PEP stability in water. In contrast, after addition of an alcohol to a PEP aqueous solution, other very unstable cyclic pentacoordinated intermediates are formed, which immediately collapse, giving a feasible phosphorylation of the alcohol. It is known that cyclic pentacoordinated phosphorus intermediates are favored over the corresponding acyclic intermediates by a factor of 106-108, and this preference, found also in this study, might be the odriver mechanismo able to overcome the clutter of abiotic chemistry, thus permitting formation of pre-RNA molecules probably with a oself-organized process.o.