Yufen Zhao, Yan Liu, Xiang Gao and Pengxiang Xu, Xiamen University, China

• Table of Contents Chapter 1 Overview1.1Prebiotic origin of phosphorus1.2Phosphorus and biological small molecules1.3Phosphorus and biological macromolecules1.4The scientific questions on the origin of lifeReferences Chapter 2 Occurrence2.1 Phosphate esters—the functional center of biological systems2.2 The important roles of phosphate esters2.3 The chemical stabilities of phosphate esters2.4 Phosphoryl group transfer catalyzed by enzymes2.5 Phosphorus can’t be replaced by other elements2.6 Natural evolution determined the key roles of phosphorus in lifeReferences Chapter 3 Phosphorus chose –amino acids3.1 Amino acids and origin of life3.2 The chemical diversities of amino acids and function3.3 The prebiotic formation of amino acids3.4 Peptide formation under prebiotic conditions3.5 Phosphorus chemistry and prebiotic peptide formation3.6 Phosphorus chemistry and molecular evolution of high energy P-N bondsReferences Chapter 4 N-Phosphoryl amino acids—a chemical model of P-N bond4.1 N-Phosphoryl amino acids and chemical evolution of life4.2 Prebiotic formation of N-phosphoryl amino acids4.3 Chemical reactions of N-phosphoryl amino acids4.4 N-Phosphoryl amino acids—small chemical model for biological P-N bondsReferences Chapter 5 Coevolution of nucleic acids and protein, and the origin of genetic code5.1 The main stages of life origin5.2 The origin of genetic codes5.3 Chemical evolution of genetic codes5.4 N-Phosphoryl amino acids: co-evolution model of nucleic acids and proteins5.5 The interactions of amino acids and nucleotides in the process of peptide formation catalyzed by phosphorus reagentsReferences Chapter 6 Phosphoryl group transfer reaction of pentacoordinate phosphorus amino acids6.1 The advancement of phosphoryl group transfers6.2 The mechanism of intramolecular phosphorus transfer6.3 The mechanism of intermolecular phosphoryl group transfer between amino acidsReferences Chapter 7 Pentacoordinatebisamino acids spirophosphoranes7.1 The roles of amino acids pentacoordinate phosphorus compounds in biological systems7.2 The synthetic methods of pentacoordinatebisamino acids spirophosphoranes7.3 Characterization of chiral pentacoodinatebisamino acids spirophosphoranesReferences Chapter 8 The chemical mode for the origin of amino acid homochirality8.1 Origin of chirality8.2 The chemical model of amino acids homochirality8.3 The interactions of nucleotides and amino acids8.4 Molecular modeling of the binding modeReferences Chapter 9 N-Phosphoryl amino acids and the origin of cell membranes9.1 The prebiotic origins of cell and its evolution9.2 Membrane formations based on amphiphilic N-phosphoryl amino acids9.3 The evolution of prebiotic membranes9.4 N-Phosphorus amino acids and the origins of lifeReferences Chapter 10 Discovery of seryl-histidine dipeptide and its function10.1 “Mini-protease” Ser-His peptide10.2 DNA cleavage of by Ser-His10.3 Proteins cleavage by Ser-His10.4 The prototype for modern enzymes Ser-His peptideReferences Chapter 11 Interactions of ATP with amino acids11.1 Small molecules-based origin and evolution of proteins11.2 The chemical structures of ATP and interactions with amino acidsReferences Chapter 12 Conclusion and Exploration12.1 Origin of life12.2 Life originated from ocean12.3 Life Exploration by determination of stable isotopic oxygen in phosphate saltsReferences