Nickerson K W
J Theor Biol. 1984 Oct 5;110(3):487-99. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5193(84)80188-5.
The necessity for long time spans in models on the origin of life leads to a major difficulty in that under the environmental conditions existing today biological macromolecules are inherently unstable. The present hypothesis suggests that life arose under a set of environmental conditions whereby polymerization was thermodynamically favored. In particular, increased pressure when coupled with low water activity and high temperature should stabilize polymer bond formation. Three implications of this pressure stabilization theory are presented: (1) The necessary conditions for stabilization are similar to some of the ecological niches occupied by representatives of the archaebacteria. It is suggested that the harsh and unusual habitats of the archaebacteria reflect in part prebiotic environmental conditions. (2) Biological optical activity would be generated if, for instance, L-L peptide bonds were stabilized to a greater degree than L-D peptide bonds. This type of selective stabilization would provide for the maintenance of molecular asymmetry as well as the creation of molecular asymmetry. (3) Conditions necessary for generating the requisite pressure may concurrently have provided protection from prebiotic ultraviolet radiation.
生命起源模型中需要长时间跨度导致了一个主要困难，即如今存在的环境条件下生物大分子本质上是不稳定的。当前假说认为生命起源于一组环境条件，在这些条件下聚合在热力学上是有利的。特别是，压力增加与低水分活度和高温相结合时应能稳定聚合物键的形成。本文提出了这种压力稳定理论的三个推论：（1）稳定所需的条件与古细菌代表所占据的一些生态位相似。有人认为古细菌恶劣且不寻常的栖息地部分反映了前生物环境条件。（2）例如，如果L - L肽键比L - D肽键更稳定，就会产生生物光学活性。这种选择性稳定将有助于维持分子不对称性以及产生分子不对称性。（3）产生所需压力的必要条件可能同时提供了免受前生物紫外线辐射的保护。
