Question

Which of the following amino acids were found to be synthesized in Miller's experiment?
(a) Alanine
(b) Glycine
(c) Aspartic acid
(d) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint In Miller's original experiments 20 different amino acids were produced. This experiment was conducted in the year 1952 by Stanley Miller under the supervision of Harold Urey at the University of Chicago. The experiment was to investigate abiogenesis.

Complete answer:
Alanine, glycine, and aspartic acid are the amino acids that were found to be synthesized in Miller's experiment. Miller has set up an apparatus in which he has provided some conditions of primitive earth which were explained by Oparin and Holding.
The conditions he had created for the experiment was:
-Maintenance of high temperature of around 800 degrees Celsius ${ 800 }^{ \circ }{ C }$.
-Presence of only four compounds i.e., methane $C{ H }_{ 4 }$, hydrogen ${ H }_{ 2 }$, water ${ H }_{ 2 }{ O }$, and ammonia $N{ H }_{ 3 }$. All three compounds are in a gaseous state except water.
-All the four chemicals were sealed inside a sterile 5-liter glass flask connected to a 500 ml flask half-full of water.
-The water in the smaller flask was heated to induce evaporation, and the water vapor was allowed to enter the larger flask. Between the electrodes to simulate lightning within the water vapor and gaseous mixture continuous electrical sparks were fired, then the simulated atmosphere was cooled again in such a way that the water condensed and trickled into a U-shaped trap at the rock bottom of the apparatus.
-To create a lightning effect Millar has kept some electrodes that were present or kept for spark discharge.
-As a result, Miller got a liquid at the end of the experiment in which plenty of biomolecules were present along with some amino acids. These amino acids were mainly alanine, glycine, and aspartic acid.

So, the correct answer is,’ All of the above’.

Note:
-The main purpose of Miller’s experiment was to test the hypothesis which states that the complex molecules of life, amino acids have arisen through simple, natural chemical reactions on our young planet.
-The experiment performed by Miller was highly successful in proving that amino acids are the building blocks of life and were produced during the simulation of the conditions of Earth's early atmosphere.
-To create a lightning effect Millar has kept some electrodes that were present or kept for spark discharge.