Prebiotic nucleotide synthesis-demonstration of a geologically plausible pathway.

Mineral phosphate (apatite) is activated for the synthesis of nucleotides when dilute solutions containing nucleoside and ammonium oxalate are evaporated in its presence. A natural, igneous fluorapatite was found to be even more effective in nucleotide synthesis than the more soluble hydroxylapatite. The phosphorylation is considerably more efficient if urea of cyanamide is also present. Hydrolysis of solutions of cyanogen to form oxalate and urea among other products is a spontaneous process that provides a geologically plausible model for necleotide synthesis on the primitive earth.