https://phys.org/news/2018-06-plate-tectonics-stage-life-earth.html

Phosphorus is essential for life as we know it. Phosphates, which are compounds containing phosphorus and oxygen, are part of the backbones of DNA and RNA as well as the membranes of cells, and help control cell growth and function.

To find out how the level of phosphorus in the Earth's crust has increased over time, the scientists studied how rock formed as the Earth's mantle cooled. They performed modeling to find out how mantle-derived rocks changed composition as a consequence of the long-term cooling of the mantle.