Mineral templates are thought to have played keys roles in the emergence of life. Drawing on recent findings from 3.45–2.45 billion-year-old iron-rich hydrothermal sedimentary rocks, we hypothesize that greenalite (Fe₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄) was a readily available mineral in hydrothermal environments, where it may have acted as a template and catalyst in polymerization, vesicle formation and encapsulation, and protocell replication. We argue that venting of dissolved Fe²⁺ and SiO₂(aq) into the anoxic Hadean ocean favored the precipitation of nanometer-sized particles of greenalite in hydrothermal plumes, producing a continuous flow of free-floating clay templates that traversed the ocean. The mixing of acidic, metal-bearing hydrothermal plumes from volcanic ridge systems with more alkaline, organic-bearing plumes generated by serpentinization of ultramafic rocks brought together essential building blocks for life in solutions conducive to greenalite precipitation. We suggest that the extreme disorder in the greenalite crystal lattice, producing structural modulations resembling parallel corrugations (∼22 Å wide) on particle edges, promoted the assembly and alignment of linear RNA-type molecules (∼20 Å diameter). In alkaline solutions, greenalite nanoparticles could have accelerated the growth of membrane vesicles, while their encapsulation allowed RNA-type molecules to continue to form on the mineral templates, potentially enhancing the growth and division of primitive cell membranes. Once self-replicating RNA evolved, the mineral template became redundant, and protocells were free to replicate and roam the ocean realm.

中文翻译：

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碱性喷口羽流中的 Greenalite 纳米粒子作为生命起源的模板


矿物模板被认为在生命的出现中发挥了关键作用。根据对 3.45-24.5 亿年历史的富铁热液沉积岩的最新发现，我们假设绿岩（Fe ₃ Si ₂ O ₅ (OH) ₄ ）是热液环境中一种容易获得的矿物，它可能在热液环境中发挥作用作为聚合、囊泡形成和封装以及原始细胞复制中的模板和催化剂。我们认为，溶解的 Fe ²⁺和 SiO ₂ ( aq ) 排入缺氧的冥宙海洋有利于热液羽流中纳米尺寸的绿钠石颗粒的沉淀，从而产生穿过海洋的自由漂浮的粘土模板的连续流。来自火山脊系统的酸性含金属热液羽流与超镁铁岩蛇纹石化产生的碱性含有机物羽流混合在一起，将生命的重要组成部分聚集在有利于绿钠石沉淀的溶液中。我们认为绿钠石晶格的极度无序，在颗粒边缘产生类似于平行波纹（∼22 Å宽）的结构调制，促进了线性RNA型分子（∼20 Å直径）的组装和排列。在碱性溶液中，Greenalite 纳米粒子可以加速膜囊泡的生长，而它们的封装允许 RNA 型分子继续在矿物模板上形成，从而可能增强原始细胞膜的生长和分裂。一旦自我复制的RNA进化出来，矿物模板就变得多余，原始细胞就可以自由复制并在海洋领域漫游。