生命的起源与高压生命科学

自发现海底热泉以来,科学家对深海热泉的地质结构、化学成分、生物群落、生物代谢过程等进行了深入的研究.海底热液周围呈现了和地球表面完全不同的生态环境,在暗无阳光的深海区域,嗜热细菌完全依靠化学能量生存繁殖,而热液中其他生物则以嗜热细菌为食,形成了繁茂独特的生态系统.和地表常压环境相比,在高压热液条件下,更容易聚合生成有机大分子,且有机大分子更稳定、化学反应活性更强,形成更多样化的生命体.越来越多的科学家推测原始的生命大分子可能起源于海底热液系统.本文在综述了有关"超高压热液生命"研究文献的基础上,提出采用高压生物系统,研究在高压状态下生物发育生长的适宜条件,探索生物可能出现的新化学反应和新生物性状,进一步揭示新的生命进化规律.

Origin of life and high-pressure life sciences

Since the submarine hot spring was discovered,the geological structure,chemical composition,biological community and metabolism of the submarine hot spring have been deeply researched by scientists.The ecological environment of submarine hot spring greatly differs from the environment of the Earth's surface.In the dark deep sea area without sunlight,thermophilic bacteria completely rely on chemical energy to survive and multiply,and other creatures feed on themselves on the thermophilic bacteria and therefore form a luxuriant and unique ecological system.Compared with atmospheric pressure environment,biological macromolecules under ultra high pressure are easier to be polymerized,more stable,and have stronger chemical reaction activity,therefore generate more diversity of life forms.More and more scientists realize that the life macromolecule might originate in the submarine hot spring system.Based on overviewing research literatures about ultra high pressure hydrothermal life,the author proposes to apply the high pressure bio-ecological system to explore the optimum conditions for biological growth and development under high pressure,and determine new possible chemical reactions and new biological traits of organisms,and further to reveal new laws of life evolution.