Question

How did chemical evolution occur in the hot dilute soup of organic substrates?

Answer 1

Chemical evolution in primordial soup:

1. Primordial soup refers to the solution containing organic molecules that were present in the water bodies in the primitive phase of earth.
2. Oparin and Haldane theorized that the first life formed on earth obtained their nutrition from the organic content.
3. Based on this hypothesis, the early atmosphere of the earth was reducing in nature, with little or no oxygen.
4. The UV rays entering the atmosphere catalyzed the reaction between water, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
5. This reaction led to the formation of simple sugars, proteins, and fatty acids which then accumulated to form a hot dilute soup.
6. Sugars combined to form polysaccharides and the fatty acids gave rise to lipids. Proteins in the form of amino acids reacted with sugars and phosphate molecules to form nucleotides.
7. The nucleotides united to form full-length nucleic acids and initiate chemical evolution.
8. Thus, from this organic content, the first organisms were formed.