An interdisciplinary review of the chemical literature that points to a unifying scenario for the origin of life, referred to as the Primordial Multifunctional organic Entity (PriME) scenario, is provided herein. In the PriME scenario it is suggested that the Insoluble Organic Matter (IOM) in carbonaceous chondrites, as well as interplanetary dust particles from meteorites and comets may have played an important role in the three most critical processes involved in the origin of life, namely 1) metabolism, via a) the provision and accumulation of molecules that are the building blocks of life, b) catalysis (e.g., by templation), and c) protection of developing life molecules against radiation by excited state deactivation; 2) compartmentalization, via adsorption of compounds on the exposed organic surfaces in fractured meteorites, and 3) replication, via deaggregation, desorption and related physical phenomena. This scenario is based on the hitherto overlooked structural and physicochemical similarities between the IOM and the dark, insoluble, multifunctional melanin polymers found in bacteria and fungi and associated with the ability of these microorganisms to survive extreme conditions, including ionizing radiation. The underlying conceptual link between these two materials is strengthened by the fact that primary precursors of bacterial and fungal melanins (collectively referred to herein as allomelanins) are hydroxylated aromatic compounds like homogentisic acid and 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene, and that similar hydroxylated aromatic compounds, including hydroxynaphthalenes, figure prominently among possible components of the organic materials on dust grains and ices in the interstellar matter, and may be involved in the formation of IOM in meteorites. Inspired by this rationale, a vis-à-vis review of the properties of IOM from various chondrites and non-nitrogenous allomelanin pigments from bacteria and fungi is provided herein. The unrecognized similarities between these materials may pave the way for a novel scenario at the origin of life, in which IOM-related complex organic polymers delivered to the early Earth are proposed to serve as PriME and were preserved and transformed in those primitive forms of life that shared the ability to synthesize melanin polymers playing an important role in the critical processes underlying the establishment of terrestrial eukaryotes.

本文提供了化学文献的跨学科综述，指出了生命起源的统一情景，称为原始多功能有机实体 (PriME) 情景。在 PriME 情景中，建议碳质球粒陨石中的不溶性有机物 (IOM) 以及来自陨石和彗星的行星际尘埃颗粒可能在生命起源的三个最关键过程中发挥了重要作用，即 1 )新陈代谢，通过a ) 作为生命组成部分的分子的提供和积累，b ) 催化（例如，通过模板），以及c ) 通过激发态失活保护发育中的生命分子免受辐射；2)划分，通过化合物在断裂陨石中暴露的有机表面上的吸附，和 3)复制，通过解聚、解吸和相关的物理现象。这种情况是基于迄今为止被忽视的 IOM 与在细菌和真菌中发现的深色、不溶性、多功能黑色素聚合物之间的结构和物理化学相似性，并且与这些微生物在极端条件下（包括电离辐射）的生存能力有关。这两种材料之间的基本概念联系通过以下事实得到加强：细菌和真菌黑色素的主要前体（本文统称为异黑素）) 是羟基化的芳香族化合物，如高黑酸和 1,8-二羟基萘，而类似的羟基化芳香族化合物，包括羟基萘，在星际物质中尘埃颗粒和冰上的有机物质的可能成分中占有重要地位，并可能参与陨石中 IOM 的形成。受此基本原理的启发，本文提供了对来自各种球粒陨石和来自细菌和真菌的非氮异黑素色素的 IOM 特性的回顾。这些材料之间未被识别的相似之处可能为生命起源的新场景铺平道路，