High pressure and the origin of life

Abstract

Three lines of experimental research suggest that high pressure may have played a significant role in the origin of life. Discoveries of abundant life in high-pressure environments, including deep oceans, hydrothermal vents, and crustal rocks, point to the adaptation of life to a variety of aqueous habitats. Cultures of microbes at high pressure display both barotolerant and barophilic behaviour. And studies of high-pressure hydrothermal organic synthesis reveal unexpectedly facile reaction mechanisms for the production of a variety of requisite biomolecules.