Résumé
The chapter discusses the process of dynamic coevolution of peptides and energy on the primitive Earth. In such a scenario, homochirality and sequential peptides appear as a consequence of this dynamic coevolution. The idea of dynamic coevolution at the time of the origin of life requires the addition of the energy component to the old debate about the priority of emergence between peptides and RNAs. This debate is far from being resolved and continues to evolve, as it is assumed that the emergence of the RNA world is hard to imagine without the aid of peptides and their catalytic effects. Putting into perspective the conditions of the emergence of the first peptides and their subsequent catalytic effects may have constituted one of the first steps in this extraordinary mechanism of the pathway from inert to “alive.” To participate in this debate, the chapter carefully analyzes the formation of α-amino acids discovered in meteorites, and shows that they are derived from the following system {H2O, HCN, R1COR2, NH3, R3NH2, CO2, NaHCO3, B(0H)4-, NO, and O2}, involving thirty five different carbonyl compounds, ammonia, and two amines. By studying the evolution of these systems, an experimental scenario was deduced, which can explain the emergence of exogenous and endogenous α-amino acids, as well as the emergence of peptides on the primitive Earth.