Compartmentalization is crucial for the evolution of life. Present-day phospholipid membranes exhibit a high level of complexity and species-dependent homochirality, the so-called lipid divide. It is possible that less stable, yet more dynamic systems, promoting out-of-equilibrium environments, facilitated the evolution of life at its early stages. The composition of the preceding primitive membranes and the evolutionary route towards complexity and homochirality remain unexplained. Organics-rich carbonaceous chondrites are evidence of the ample diversity of interstellar chemistry, which may have enriched the prebiotic milieu on early Earth. This Review evaluates the detections of simple amphiphiles — likely ancestors of membrane phospholipids — in extraterrestrial samples and analogues, along with potential pathways to form primitive compartments on primeval Earth. The chiroptical properties of the chiral backbones of phospholipids provide a guide for future investigations into the origins of phospholipid membrane homochirality. We highlight a plausible common pathway towards homochirality of lipids, amino acids, and sugars starting from enantioenriched monomers. Finally, given their high recalcitrance and resistance to degradation, lipids are among the best candidate biomarkers in exobiology.

区隔化对于生命的进化至关重要。当今的磷脂膜表现出高度的复杂性和物种依赖性同手性，即所谓的脂质鸿沟。有可能不太稳定但更具动态性的系统促进了不平衡的环境，促进了生命早期阶段的进化。先前原始膜的组成以及复杂性和同手性的进化路线仍然无法解释。富含有机物的碳质球粒陨石是星际化学丰富多样性的证据，这可能丰富了早期地球的生命起源环境。本综述评估了外星样品和类似物中简单两亲物（可能是膜磷脂的祖先）的检测，以及在原始地球上形成原始隔室的潜在途径。磷脂手性主链的手性光学特性为未来研究磷脂膜纯手性的起源提供了指导。我们强调了从对映体富集的单体开始实现脂质、氨基酸和糖的同手性的看似合理的共同途径。最后，鉴于脂质的高顽抗性和抗降解性，脂质是外生物学中最佳的候选生物标志物之一。