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Song M, Warr O, Telling J, Sherwood Lollar B. Hydrogeological controls on microbial activity and habitability in the Precambrian continental crust. Geobiology 2024; 22:e12592. [PMID: 38445449 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Earth's deep continental subsurface is a prime setting to study the limits of life's relationship with environmental conditions and habitability. In Precambrian crystalline rocks worldwide, deep ancient groundwaters in fracture networks are typically oligotrophic, highly saline, and locally inhabited by low-biomass communities in which chemolithotrophic microorganisms may dominate. Periodic opening of new fractures can lead to penetration of surface water and/or migration of fracture fluids, both of which may trigger changes in subsurface microbial composition and activity. These hydrogeological processes and their impacts on subsurface communities may play a significant role in global cycles of key elements in the crust. However, to date, considerable uncertainty remains on how subsurface microbial communities may respond to these changes in hydrogeochemical conditions. To address this uncertainty, the biogeochemistry of Thompson mine (Manitoba, Canada) was investigated. Compositional and isotopic analyses of fracture waters collected here at ~1 km below land surface revealed different extents of mixing between subsurface brine and (paleo)meteoric waters. To investigate the effects this mixing may have had on microbial communities, the Most Probable Number technique was applied to test community response for a total of 13 different metabolisms. The results showed that all fracture waters were dominated by viable heterotrophic microorganisms which can utilize organic materials associated with aerobic/facultative anaerobic processes, sulfate reduction, or fermentation. Where mixing between subsurface brines and (paleo)meteoric waters occurs, the communities demonstrate higher cell densities and increased viable functional potentials, compared to the most saline sample. This study therefore highlights the connection between hydrogeologic heterogeneity and the heterogeneity of subsurface ecosystems in the crystalline rocks, and suggests that hydrogeology can have a considerable impact on the scope and scale of subsurface microbial communities on Earth and potentially beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Song
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver Warr
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jon Telling
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Barbara Sherwood Lollar
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
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2
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Waajen AC, Lima C, Goodacre R, Cockell CS. Life on Earth can grow on extraterrestrial organic carbon. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3691. [PMID: 38355968 PMCID: PMC10866878 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54195-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The universe is a vast store of organic abiotic carbon that could potentially drive heterotrophy on habitable planets. Meteorites are one of the transporters of this carbon to planetary surfaces. Meteoritic material was accumulating on early Earth when life emerged and proliferated. Yet it is not known if this organic carbon from space was accessible to life. In this research, an anaerobic microbial community was grown with the CM2 carbonaceous chondrite Aguas Zarcas as the sole carbon, energy and nutrient source. Using a reversed 13C-stable isotope labelling experiment in combination with optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy of single cells, this paper demonstrates the direct transfer of carbon from meteorite into microbial biomass. This implies that meteoritic organics could have been used as a carbon source on early Earth and other habitable planets, and supports the potential for a heterotrophic metabolism in early living systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cassio Lima
- Centre for Metabolomics Research, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Royston Goodacre
- Centre for Metabolomics Research, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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3
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Li Y, Kurokawa H, Sekine Y, Kebukawa Y, Nakano Y, Kitadai N, Zhang N, Zang X, Ueno Y, Fujimori G, Nakamura R, Fujishima K, Isa J. Aqueous breakdown of aspartate and glutamate to n-ω-amino acids on the parent bodies of carbonaceous chondrites and asteroid Ryugu. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadh7845. [PMID: 38100590 PMCID: PMC10848742 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh7845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Amino acids in carbonaceous chondrites may have seeded the origin of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere. Recently, the return samples from a C-type asteroid Ryugu were found to contain amino acids with a similar distribution to Ivuna-type CI chondrites, suggesting the potential of amino acid abundances as molecular descriptors of parent body geochemistry. However, the chemical mechanisms responsible for the amino acid distributions remain to be elucidated particularly at low temperatures (<50°C). Here, we report that two representative proteinogenic amino acids, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, decompose to β-alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid, respectively, under simulated geoelectrochemical conditions at 25°C. This low-temperature conversion provides a plausible explanation for the enrichment of these two n-ω-amino acids compared to their precursors in heavily aqueously altered CI chondrites and Ryugu's return samples. The results suggest that these heavily aqueously altered samples originated from the water-rich mantle of their water/rock differentiated parent planetesimals where protein α-amino acids were decomposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamei Li
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kurokawa
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Department of Earth Science and Astronomy, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
| | - Yasuhito Sekine
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
- Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Japan Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Kanazawa, Kakumachi 920-1192, Japan
- Planetary Plasma and Atmospheric Research Center, Tohoku University, Aramaki-aza-Aoba 6-3, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoko Kebukawa
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogayaku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Yuko Nakano
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Norio Kitadai
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | - Naizhong Zhang
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Xiaofeng Zang
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Yuichiro Ueno
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | - Gen Fujimori
- Department of Chemistry and Life Science, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogayaku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
| | - Ryuhei Nakamura
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Kosuke Fujishima
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan
| | - Junko Isa
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Planetary Exploration Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
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4
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Witze A. Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth. Nature 2023; 622:13-14. [PMID: 37743373 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02954-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
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5
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Witze A. An 'alien meteorite' probably didn't slam into Earth - how will we know if one does? Nature 2023; 621:238-239. [PMID: 37674092 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02823-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
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6
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Conroy G, Pawar P, Powell S. How China is capturing attention with landmark research. Nature 2023; 620:S6-S8. [PMID: 37558843 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02160-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
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7
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Nguyen AN, Mane P, Keller LP, Piani L, Abe Y, Aléon J, Alexander CMO, Amari S, Amelin Y, Bajo KI, Bizzarro M, Bouvier A, Carlson RW, Chaussidon M, Choi BG, Dauphas N, Davis AM, Di Rocco T, Fujiya W, Fukai R, Gautam I, Haba MK, Hibiya Y, Hidaka H, Homma H, Hoppe P, Huss GR, Ichida K, Iizuka T, Ireland TR, Ishikawa A, Itoh S, Kawasaki N, Kita NT, Kitajima K, Kleine T, Komatani S, Krot AN, Liu MC, Masuda Y, McKeegan KD, Morita M, Motomura K, Moynier F, Nakai I, Nagashima K, Nesvorný D, Nittler L, Onose M, Pack A, Park C, Qin L, Russell SS, Sakamoto N, Schönbächler M, Tafla L, Tang H, Terada K, Terada Y, Usui T, Wada S, Wadhwa M, Walker RJ, Yamashita K, Yin QZ, Yokoyama T, Yoneda S, Young ED, Yui H, Zhang AC, Nakamura T, Naraoka H, Noguchi T, Okazaki R, Sakamoto K, Yabuta H, Abe M, Miyazaki A, Nakato A, Nishimura M, Okada T, Yada T, Yogata K, Nakazawa S, Saiki T, Tanaka S, Terui F, Tsuda Y, Watanabe SI, Yoshikawa M, Tachibana S, Yurimoto H. Abundant presolar grains and primordial organics preserved in carbon-rich exogenous clasts in asteroid Ryugu. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadh1003. [PMID: 37450600 PMCID: PMC10348677 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh1003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Preliminary analyses of asteroid Ryugu samples show kinship to aqueously altered CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, suggesting similar origins. We report identification of C-rich, particularly primitive clasts in Ryugu samples that contain preserved presolar silicate grains and exceptional abundances of presolar SiC and isotopically anomalous organic matter. The high presolar silicate abundance (104 ppm) indicates that the clast escaped extensive alteration. The 5 to 10 times higher abundances of presolar SiC (~235 ppm), N-rich organic matter, organics with N isotopic anomalies (1.2%), and organics with C isotopic anomalies (0.2%) in the primitive clasts compared to bulk Ryugu suggest that the clasts formed in a unique part of the protoplanetary disk enriched in presolar materials. These clasts likely represent previously unsampled outer solar system material that accreted onto Ryugu after aqueous alteration ceased, consistent with Ryugu's rubble pile origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann. N. Nguyen
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Prajkta Mane
- Universities Space Research Association, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Lindsay P. Keller
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Laurette Piani
- Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques, CNRS - Université de Lorraine, Nancy 54500, France
| | - Yoshinari Abe
- Graduate School of Engineering Materials Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Tokyo 120-8551, Japan
| | - Jérôme Aléon
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Université, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS UMR 7590, IRD, Paris 75005, France
| | | | - Sachiko Amari
- McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences and Physics Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Geochemical Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yuri Amelin
- Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, GD 510640, China
| | - Ken-ichi Bajo
- Department of Natural History Sciences, IIL, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Martin Bizzarro
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K 1350, Denmark
| | - Audrey Bouvier
- Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95447, Germany
| | - Richard W. Carlson
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - Marc Chaussidon
- Université Paris Cités, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, Paris 75005, France
| | - Byeon-Gak Choi
- Department of Earth Science Education, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Nicolas Dauphas
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Andrew M. Davis
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Tommaso Di Rocco
- Faculty of Geosciences and Geography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Wataru Fujiya
- Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, Mito 310-8512, Japan
| | - Ryota Fukai
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Ikshu Gautam
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Makiko K. Haba
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Yuki Hibiya
- General Systems Studies, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-0041, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Hidaka
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Hisashi Homma
- Osaka Application Laboratory, SBUWDX, Rigaku Corporation, Osaka 569-1146, Japan
| | - Peter Hoppe
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Gary R. Huss
- Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Kiyohiro Ichida
- Analytical Technology, Horiba Techno Service Co. Ltd., Kyoto 601-8125, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Iizuka
- Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Trevor R. Ireland
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Akira Ishikawa
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Shoichi Itoh
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Noriyuki Kawasaki
- Department of Natural History Sciences, IIL, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Noriko T. Kita
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Kouki Kitajima
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Thorsten Kleine
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Shintaro Komatani
- Analytical Technology, Horiba Techno Service Co. Ltd., Kyoto 601-8125, Japan
| | - Alexander N. Krot
- Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ming-Chang Liu
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Yuki Masuda
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Kevin D. McKeegan
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mayu Morita
- Analytical Technology, Horiba Techno Service Co. Ltd., Kyoto 601-8125, Japan
| | | | - Frédéric Moynier
- Université Paris Cités, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, Paris 75005, France
| | - Izumi Nakai
- Applied Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan
| | - Kazuhide Nagashima
- Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - David Nesvorný
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - Larry Nittler
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Morihiko Onose
- Analytical Technology, Horiba Techno Service Co. Ltd., Kyoto 601-8125, Japan
| | - Andreas Pack
- Faculty of Geosciences and Geography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen D-37077, Germany
| | - Changkun Park
- Earth System Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea
| | - Liping Qin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Sara S. Russell
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Naoya Sakamoto
- Isotope Imaging Laboratory, Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Maria Schönbächler
- Institute for Geochemistry and Petrology, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lauren Tafla
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Haolan Tang
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Kentaro Terada
- Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043, Japan
| | - Yasuko Terada
- Spectroscopy and Imaging, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Usui
- Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, Mito 310-8512, Japan
| | - Sohei Wada
- Department of Natural History Sciences, IIL, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Meenakshi Wadhwa
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Richard J. Walker
- Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Katsuyuki Yamashita
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Qing-Zhu Yin
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Tetsuya Yokoyama
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - Shigekazu Yoneda
- Science and Engineering, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan
| | - Edward D. Young
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hiroharu Yui
- Department of Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan
| | - Ai-Cheng Zhang
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Tomoki Nakamura
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Naraoka
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Takaaki Noguchi
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Ryuji Okazaki
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Kanako Sakamoto
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Hikaru Yabuta
- Earth and Planetary Systems Science Program, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Masanao Abe
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Akiko Miyazaki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Aiko Nakato
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Masahiro Nishimura
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Okada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Toru Yada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Kasumi Yogata
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Satoru Nakazawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Takanao Saiki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Satoshi Tanaka
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Fuyuto Terui
- Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Atsugi 243-0292, Japan
| | - Yuichi Tsuda
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | | | - Makoto Yoshikawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara 252-5210, Japan
| | - Shogo Tachibana
- UTokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Hisayoshi Yurimoto
- Department of Natural History Sciences, IIL, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Shoji M, Kitazawa Y, Sato A, Watanabe N, Boero M, Shigeta Y, Umemura M. Enantiomeric Excesses of Aminonitrile Precursors Determine the Homochirality of Amino Acids. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3243-3248. [PMID: 36975120 PMCID: PMC10084466 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
High enantiomeric excesses (ee's) of l-amino acids, including non-proteinogenic amino acid isovaline (Iva), were discovered in the Murchison meteorite, but the detailed molecular mechanism responsible for the observed ee of amino acids remains elusive and inconsistent, because Iva has an inverted circular dichroism (CD) spectrum with respect to α-H amino acids, e.g., alanine. To address this issue, we resort to accurate ab initio calculations for amino acids and their precursors in the Strecker synthesis. We evaluated their photolysis-induced ee in the range 5-11 eV including the Lyman alpha emission line (Lyα), the typical intensive 10.2 eV radiation ascribed to the early phase of galactic evolution. We show that only the aminonitrile precursors are characterized by positive ee in the Lyα region, explaining why right-handed circularly polarized Lyα (R-CP-Lyα) induces homologous l-amino acids. This study shows that the homochirality of amino acids is produced at the aminonitrile precursors stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuo Shoji
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
- JST-PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Yuya Kitazawa
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Akimasa Sato
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Natsuki Watanabe
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Mauro Boero
- University
of Strasbourg, Institut de Physique
et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7504, 23 rue du Loess, Strasbourg F-67034, France
| | - Yasuteru Shigeta
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
| | - Masayuki Umemura
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
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9
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Kamran A, Mushtaq M, Arif M, Rashid S. Role of biostimulants (ascorbic acid and fulvic acid) to synergize Rhizobium activity in pea (Pisum sativum L. var. Meteor). Plant Physiol Biochem 2023; 196:668-682. [PMID: 36801772 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Biostimulants such as ascorbic acid (AA) and fulvic acid (FA)can enhance the efficiency of root-nodulating bacteria. This study investigates optimum concentration of these two biostimulants to maximize the Rhizobium activity and increase root size, nodulation capability, NPK uptake, yield and quality. Interaction with nitrogenase enzyme through molecular docking was also studied by using both AA and FA as ligands to better understand their inhibitory role in excess amounts. The findings of the study suggest: the combined application of both FA and AA at 200 ppm concentrations proved to be more effective than the individual application. Excellent vegetative growth was noticed which translated into an increased reproductive growth i.e statistically significant increase in number of pods per plant, fresh and dry weight of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, total chlorophyll, carotenoids and chemical constituents of pea seeds i.e. N (16.17%), P (40.47%), K (39.96%) and protein (16.25%). These findings were substantiated by molecular docking of nitrogenase enzyme with ascorbic acid and fulvic acid. The XP docking score of ascorbic acid (-7.07 kcal mol-1) and fulvic acid (-6.908 kcal mol-1) exhibited that the optimum doses (200 ppm) should be used as higher dose or their excess amount can hinder the Rhizobium activity of nitrogen fixation by interacting with the nitrogenase enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atif Kamran
- Agriculture, Food & Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Canada; Institute of Botany, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.
| | | | - Muhammad Arif
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China; Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, 60000, Pakistan
| | - Saima Rashid
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, 60000, Pakistan
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10
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O'Brien ÁC, Hallis LJ, Regnault C, Morrison D, Blackburn G, Steele A, Daly L, Tait A, Tremblay MM, Telenko DE, Gunn J, McKay E, Mari N, Salik MA, Ascough P, Toney J, Griffin S, Whitfield P, Lee M. Using Organic Contaminants to Constrain the Terrestrial Journey of the Martian Meteorite Lafayette. Astrobiology 2022; 22:1351-1362. [PMID: 36264546 PMCID: PMC9618387 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A key part of the search for extraterrestrial life is the detection of organic molecules since these molecules form the basis of all living things on Earth. Instrument suites such as SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) onboard the NASA Perseverance rover and the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer onboard the future ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover are designed to detect organic molecules at the martian surface. However, size, mass, and power limitations mean that these instrument suites cannot yet match the instrumental capabilities available in Earth-based laboratories. Until Mars Sample Return, the only martian samples available for study on Earth are martian meteorites. This is a collection of largely basaltic igneous rocks that have been exposed to varying degrees of terrestrial contamination. The low organic molecule abundance within igneous rocks and the expectation of terrestrial contamination make the identification of martian organics within these meteorites highly challenging. The Lafayette martian meteorite exhibits little evidence of terrestrial weathering, potentially making it a good candidate for the detection of martian organics despite uncertainties surrounding its fall history. In this study, we used ultrapure solvents to extract organic matter from triplicate samples of Lafayette and analyzed these extracts via hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS). Two hundred twenty-four metabolites (organic molecules) were detected in Lafayette at concentrations more than twice those present in the procedural blanks. In addition, a large number of plant-derived metabolites were putatively identified, the presence of which supports the unconfirmed report that Lafayette fell in a semirural location in Indiana. Remarkably, the putative identification of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (or vomitoxin), alongside the report that the collector was possibly a student at Purdue University, can be used to identify the most likely fall year as 1919.
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Affiliation(s)
- Áine Clare O'Brien
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
- SUERC, University of Glasgow, East Kilbride, UK
| | - Lydia Jane Hallis
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
| | - Clement Regnault
- Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Switchback Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Gavin Blackburn
- Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Switchback Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, UK
| | - Andrew Steele
- Carnegie Planets, Carnegie Science, Washington DC, USA
| | - Luke Daly
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
- Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Alastair Tait
- School of Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Monash University, Rainforest Walk Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marissa Marie Tremblay
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Darcy E.P. Telenko
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Jacqueline Gunn
- School of Professional Services, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Nicola Mari
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Mohammad Ali Salik
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Jaime Toney
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
| | - Sammy Griffin
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
| | - Phil Whitfield
- Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, Switchback Rd, Bearsden, Glasgow, UK
| | - Martin Lee
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, UK
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11
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Shoji M, Watanabe N, Hori Y, Furuya K, Umemura M, Boero M, Shigeta Y. Comprehensive Search of Stable Isomers of Alanine and Alanine Precursors in Prebiotic Syntheses. Astrobiology 2022; 22:1129-1142. [PMID: 35951031 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Enantiomeric excesses of l-amino acids have been detected in meteorites; however, their molecular mechanism and prebiotic syntheses are still a matter of debate. To elucidate the origin of homochirality, alanine and the chiral precursors formed in prebiotic processes were investigated with regard to their stabilities among their isomers by employing the minimum energy principle, namely, the abundancy of a molecule in the interstellar medium is directly correlated to the stability among isomers. To facilitate the search for possible isomers, we developed a new isomer search algorithm, the random connection method, and performed a thorough search for all the stable isomers within a given chemical formula. We found that alanine and most of its precursors are located at higher energy by more than 5.7 kcal mol-1, with respect to the most stable isomer that consists of a linear-chain structure, whereas only the 2-aminopropanenitrile is the most stable isomer among all others possible. The inherent stability of the α-amino nitrile suggests that the 2-aminopropanenitrile is the dominant contribution in the formation of the common enantiomeric excess over α-amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuo Shoji
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- JST-PRESTO, Kawaguchi, Japan
| | - Natsuki Watanabe
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Yuta Hori
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Kenji Furuya
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Japan
| | - Masayuki Umemura
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Mauro Boero
- University of Strasbourg, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7504, Strasbourg, France
| | - Yasuteru Shigeta
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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12
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Carr CE. Resolving the History of Life on Earth by Seeking Life As We Know It on Mars. Astrobiology 2022; 22:880-888. [PMID: 35467949 PMCID: PMC9298492 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
An origin of Earth life on Mars would resolve significant inconsistencies between the inferred history of life and Earth's geologic history. Life as we know it utilizes amino acids, nucleic acids, and lipids for the metabolic, informational, and compartment-forming subsystems of a cell. Such building blocks may have formed simultaneously from cyanosulfidic chemical precursors in a planetary surface scenario involving ultraviolet light, wet-dry cycling, and volcanism. On the inferred water world of early Earth, such an origin would have been limited to volcanic island hotspots. A cyanosulfidic origin of life could have taken place on Mars via photoredox chemistry, facilitated by orders-of-magnitude more sub-aerial crust than early Earth, and an earlier transition to oxidative conditions that could have been involved in final fixation of the genetic code. Meteoritic bombardment may have generated transient habitable environments and ejected and transferred life to Earth. Ongoing and future missions to Mars offer an unprecedented opportunity to confirm or refute evidence consistent with a cyanosulfidic origin of life on Mars, search for evidence of ancient life, and constrain the evolution of Mars' oxidation state over time. We should seek to prove or refute a martian origin for life on Earth alongside other possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E. Carr
- Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Address correspondence to: Christopher E. Carr, ESM Building, Room G10, 620 Cherry St NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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13
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Morita M, Miyamura M, Yamaguchi A, Sakamoto T. Analysis of individual matrix particles in the Allende meteorite by high-resolution FIB-TOF-SIMS. ANAL SCI 2022; 38:1039-1046. [PMID: 35751002 DOI: 10.1007/s44211-022-00124-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The matrix in the "Allende meteorite" was analyzed by high-spatial-resolution focused ion beam time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-TOF-SIMS), and consisted of fine grains with sizes of several micrometers. It is difficult to analyze the matrix particles individually. As FIB-TOF-SIMS has a high spatial resolution, it can analyze the matrix individually. In addition, if the sample can be smoothed, no other pretreatment is required. By this method, it was clarified that Al, Cr, etc., which were conventionally detected as trace components in mass spectra, existed as fine particles between the matrix particles, rather than as impurities within them. The Al-rich particles did not match the minerals already found in the Allende meteorite matrix. Although the identity of the aluminum-rich particles has not been clarified, the abundance and localization could be observed correctly. Al-rich particles are likely to be affected by metamorphism and have important information to clarify the metamorphism process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masato Morita
- Department of Applied Physics, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0015, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Miyamura
- Department of Applied Physics, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0015, Japan
| | - Akira Yamaguchi
- National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 190-8518, Japan
| | - Tetsuo Sakamoto
- Department of Applied Physics, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0015, Japan.
- Graduate School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0015, Japan.
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14
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Abstract
The regolith breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 and paired samples are unique meteorite representatives of the martian crust. They are water rich, lithologically varied, and preserve the oldest martian zircon grains yet discovered that formed ca. 4500-4300 Ma. The meteorite thus provides us with an invaluable record of the crustal and environmental conditions on early Mars. Resetting of some radioisotopic chronometers occurred in response to a major thermal disturbance event ca. 1500-1400 Ma, likely caused by an impactor that brecciated and redeposited NWA 7034 near the surface in an ejecta blanket. Lithologies comprising NWA 7034 were then aqueously altered by a long-lasting impact-induced hydrothermal system, before being excavated and ejected by a subsequent impact at ca. 5-15 Ma. This review compiles chronological and petrological information into an overarching geochronological summary for NWA 7034 and paired samples. We then provide a synopsis for the volatile (H2O, C) inventory and hydrothermal alteration history of NWA 7034. From this geochronological history and volatile inventory, we interpret and assess two potential periods of martian habitability: (1) an early window of pre-Noachian planetary habitability, and (2) impact-derived hydrothermal systems that allowed intermittent habitable crater environments well into the Amazonian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Goodwin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Russell J Garwood
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Romain Tartèse
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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15
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Waajen AC, Prescott R, Cockell CS. Meteorites as Food Source on Early Earth: Growth, Selection, and Inhibition of a Microbial Community on a Carbonaceous Chondrite. Astrobiology 2022; 22:495-508. [PMID: 35319269 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Meteoritic material accumulated on the surface of the anoxic early Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment around 4.0 Gya and may have provided Earth's surface with extraterrestrial nutrients and energy sources. This research investigates the growth of an anaerobic microbial community from pond sediment on native and pyrolyzed (heat-treated) carbonaceous chondrite Cold Bokkeveld. The community was grown anaerobically in liquid media. Native Cold Bokkeveld supported the growth of a phylogenetically clustered subset of the original pond community by habitat filtering. The anaerobic community on meteorite was dominated by the Deltaproteobacteria Geobacteraceae and Desulfuromonadaceae. Members of these taxa are known to use elemental sulfur and ferric iron as electron acceptors, and organic compounds as electron donors. Pyrolyzed Cold Bokkeveld, however, was inhibitory to the growth of the microbial community. These results show that carbonaceous chondrites can support and select for a specific anaerobic microbial community, but that pyrolysis, for example by geothermal activity, could inhibit microbial growth and toxify the material. This research shows that extraterrestrial meteoritic material can shape the abundance and composition of anaerobic microbial ecosystems with implications for early Earth. These results also provide a basis to design anaerobic material processing of asteroidal material for future human settlement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemiek C Waajen
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - R Prescott
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia South Carolina, USA
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Charles S Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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16
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Oba Y, Takano Y, Furukawa Y, Koga T, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP, Naraoka H. Identifying the wide diversity of extraterrestrial purine and pyrimidine nucleobases in carbonaceous meteorites. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2008. [PMID: 35473908 PMCID: PMC9042847 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29612-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The lack of pyrimidine diversity in meteorites remains a mystery since prebiotic chemical models and laboratory experiments have predicted that these compounds can also be produced from chemical precursors found in meteorites. Here we report the detection of nucleobases in three carbonaceous meteorites using state-of-the-art analytical techniques optimized for small-scale quantification of nucleobases down to the range of parts per trillion (ppt). In addition to previously detected purine nucleobases in meteorites such as guanine and adenine, we identify various pyrimidine nucleobases such as cytosine, uracil, and thymine, and their structural isomers such as isocytosine, imidazole-4-carboxylic acid, and 6-methyluracil, respectively. Given the similarity in the molecular distribution of pyrimidines in meteorites and those in photon-processed interstellar ice analogues, some of these derivatives could have been generated by photochemical reactions prevailing in the interstellar medium and later incorporated into asteroids during solar system formation. This study demonstrates that a diversity of meteoritic nucleobases could serve as building blocks of DNA and RNA on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Oba
- Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS), Hokkaido University, N19W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0189, Japan.
| | - Yoshinori Takano
- Biogeochemistry Research Center (BGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Toshiki Koga
- Biogeochemistry Research Center (BGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Hiroshi Naraoka
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
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17
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Mejía C, da Costa CAP, Iza P, da Silveira EF. Irradiation of Phenylalanine at 300 K by MeV Ions. Astrobiology 2022; 22:439-451. [PMID: 35427147 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phenylalanine (Phe) is an amino acid that has been identified in carbonaceous meteorites; its formation mechanism in space is unknown, and its radioresistance has been the subject of investigation. This work aims at studying, in the laboratory, the Phe radiolysis by cosmic analogues. The Phe destruction rate, at 300 K, is measured for H, He, and N ion beam irradiation in the 0.5 to 2 kinetic MeV range. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to monitor the molecular degradation as a function of fluence. The Phe apparent destruction cross-section, σapd, which includes radiolysis and sputtering processes, is determined to be proportional to the electronic stopping power, Se. The measured parameter D0 = 14.3 ± 2.2 eV/molec in the relationship, and σdap = Se/D0 is interpreted as the mean absorbed dose necessary to dissociate or eject a Phe molecule. The Phe half-life in the interstellar medium is predicted to be about 10 million years, H+ ions the main destructive cosmic ray constituent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Mejía
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Cíntia A P da Costa
- Physics Department, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Peter Iza
- Departamento de Física, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Enio F da Silveira
- Physics Department, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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18
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Tait AW, Wilson SA, Tomkins AG, Hamilton JL, Gagen EJ, Holman AI, Grice K, Preston LJ, Paterson DJ, Southam G. Preservation of Terrestrial Microorganisms and Organics Within Alteration Products of Chondritic Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. Astrobiology 2022; 22:399-415. [PMID: 35100042 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Meteorites that fall to Earth quickly become contaminated with terrestrial microorganisms. These meteorites are out of chemical equilibrium in the environments where they fall, and equilibration promotes formation of low-temperature alteration minerals that can entomb contaminant microorganisms and thus preserve them as microfossils. Given the well-understood chemistry of meteorites and their recent discovery on Mars by rovers, a similarly weathered meteorite on Mars could preserve organic and fossil evidence of a putative past biosphere at the martian surface. Here, we used several techniques to assess the potential of alteration minerals to preserve microfossils and biogenic organics in terrestrially weathered ordinary chondrites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. We used acid etching of ordinary chondrites to reveal entombed fungal hyphae, modern biofilms, and diatoms within alteration minerals. We employed synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy of alteration mineral veins to map the distribution of redox-sensitive elements of relevance to chemolithotrophic organisms, such as Mn-cycling bacteria. We assessed the biogenicity of fungal hyphae within alteration veins using a combination of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, which showed that alteration minerals sequester and preserve organic molecules at various levels of decomposition. Our combined analyses results show that fossil microorganisms and the organic molecules they produce are preserved within calcite-gypsum admixtures in meteorites. Furthermore, the distributions of redox-sensitive elements (e.g., Mn) within alteration minerals are localized, which qualitatively suggests that climatically or microbially facilitated element mobilization occurred during the meteorite's residency on Earth. If returned as part of a sample suite from the martian surface, ordinary chondrites could preserve similar, recognizable evidence of putative past life and/or environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair W Tait
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Siobhan A Wilson
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Andrew G Tomkins
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jessica L Hamilton
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Emma J Gagen
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Alex I Holman
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kliti Grice
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Louisa J Preston
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gordon Southam
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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19
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NAKAMURA E, KOBAYASHI K, TANAKA R, KUNIHIRO T, KITAGAWA H, POTISZIL C, OTA T, SAKAGUCHI C, YAMANAKA M, RATNAYAKE DM, TRIPATHI H, KUMAR R, AVRAMESCU ML, TSUCHIDA H, YACHI Y, MIURA H, ABE M, FUKAI R, FURUYA S, HATAKEDA K, HAYASHI T, HITOMI Y, KUMAGAI K, MIYAZAKI A, NAKATO A, NISHIMURA M, OKADA T, SOEJIMA H, SUGITA S, SUZUKI A, USUI T, YADA T, YAMAMOTO D, YOGATA K, YOSHITAKE M, ARAKAWA M, FUJII A, HAYAKAWA M, HIRATA N, HIRATA N, HONDA R, HONDA C, HOSODA S, IIJIMA YI, IKEDA H, ISHIGURO M, ISHIHARA Y, IWATA T, KAWAHARA K, KIKUCHI S, KITAZATO K, MATSUMOTO K, MATSUOKA M, MICHIKAMI T, MIMASU Y, MIURA A, MOROTA T, NAKAZAWA S, NAMIKI N, NODA H, NOGUCHI R, OGAWA N, OGAWA K, OKAMOTO C, ONO G, OZAKI M, SAIKI T, SAKATANI N, SAWADA H, SENSHU H, SHIMAKI Y, SHIRAI K, TAKEI Y, TAKEUCHI H, TANAKA S, TATSUMI E, TERUI F, TSUKIZAKI R, WADA K, YAMADA M, YAMADA T, YAMAMOTO Y, YANO H, YOKOTA Y, YOSHIHARA K, YOSHIKAWA M, YOSHIKAWA K, FUJIMOTO M, WATANABE SI, TSUDA Y. On the origin and evolution of the asteroid Ryugu: A comprehensive geochemical perspective. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci 2022; 98:227-282. [PMID: 35691845 PMCID: PMC9246647 DOI: 10.2183/pjab.98.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Presented here are the observations and interpretations from a comprehensive analysis of 16 representative particles returned from the C-type asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. On average Ryugu particles consist of 50% phyllosilicate matrix, 41% porosity and 9% minor phases, including organic matter. The abundances of 70 elements from the particles are in close agreement with those of CI chondrites. Bulk Ryugu particles show higher δ18O, Δ17O, and ε54Cr values than CI chondrites. As such, Ryugu sampled the most primitive and least-thermally processed protosolar nebula reservoirs. Such a finding is consistent with multi-scale H-C-N isotopic compositions that are compatible with an origin for Ryugu organic matter within both the protosolar nebula and the interstellar medium. The analytical data obtained here, suggests that complex soluble organic matter formed during aqueous alteration on the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal (several 10's of km), <2.6 Myr after CAI formation. Subsequently, the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal was fragmented and evolved into the current asteroid Ryugu through sublimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eizo NAKAMURA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Katsura KOBAYASHI
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Ryoji TANAKA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Tak KUNIHIRO
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Hiroshi KITAGAWA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Christian POTISZIL
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Tsutomu OTA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Chie SAKAGUCHI
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Masahiro YAMANAKA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Dilan M. RATNAYAKE
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Havishk TRIPATHI
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Rahul KUMAR
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Maya-Liliana AVRAMESCU
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Hidehisa TSUCHIDA
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Yusuke YACHI
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Hitoshi MIURA
- Department of Information and Basic Science, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Masanao ABE
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Ryota FUKAI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Shizuho FURUYA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kentaro HATAKEDA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Tasuku HAYASHI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yuya HITOMI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Marine Works Japan, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kazuya KUMAGAI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Marine Works Japan, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Akiko MIYAZAKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Aiko NAKATO
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masahiro NISHIMURA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki OKADA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiromichi SOEJIMA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Marine Works Japan, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Seiji SUGITA
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ayako SUZUKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Marine Works Japan, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Tomohiro USUI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Toru YADA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Daiki YAMAMOTO
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kasumi YOGATA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Miwa YOSHITAKE
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Atsushi FUJII
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masahiko HAYAKAWA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Naoyuki HIRATA
- Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Naru HIRATA
- Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Rie HONDA
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
| | - Chikatoshi HONDA
- Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Satoshi HOSODA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yu-ichi IIJIMA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hitoshi IKEDA
- Research and Development Directorate, JAXA, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masateru ISHIGURO
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Yoshiaki ISHIHARA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takahiro IWATA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kosuke KAWAHARA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Shota KIKUCHI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kohei KITAZATO
- Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Koji MATSUMOTO
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Moe MATSUOKA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
| | - Tatsuhiro MICHIKAMI
- Faculty of Engineering, Kindai University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yuya MIMASU
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Akira MIURA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Tomokatsu MOROTA
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Satoru NAKAZAWA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Noriyuki NAMIKI
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirotomo NODA
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Rina NOGUCHI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Naoko OGAWA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- JAXA Space Exploration Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kazunori OGAWA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Chisato OKAMOTO
- Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Go ONO
- Research and Development Directorate, JAXA, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masanobu OZAKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takanao SAIKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Hirotaka SAWADA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hiroki SENSHU
- Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuri SHIMAKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kei SHIRAI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Yuto TAKEI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hiroshi TAKEUCHI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Satoshi TANAKA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
- The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Eri TATSUMI
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Fuyuto TERUI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Faculty of Engineering, Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Ryudo TSUKIZAKI
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Koji WADA
- Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Manabu YAMADA
- Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC), Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya YAMADA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yukio YAMAMOTO
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hajime YANO
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro YOKOTA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Keisuke YOSHIHARA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Makoto YOSHIKAWA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kent YOSHIKAWA
- Research and Development Directorate, JAXA, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Masaki FUJIMOTO
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Sei-ichiro WATANABE
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yuichi TSUDA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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20
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Abstract
The progress of science has sometimes been unjustifiably delayed by the premature rejection of a hypothesis for which substantial evidence existed and which later achieved consensus. Continental drift, meteorite impact cratering, and anthropogenic global warming are examples from the first half of the twentieth century. This article presents evidence that the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) is a twenty-first century case.The hypothesis proposes that the airburst or impact of a comet ∼12,850 years ago caused the ensuing ∼1200-year-long Younger Dryas (YD) cool period and contributed to the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna in the Western Hemisphere and the disappearance of the Clovis Paleo-Indian culture. Soon after publication, a few scientists reported that they were unable to replicate the critical evidence and the scientific community at large came to reject the hypothesis. By today, however, many independent studies have reproduced that evidence at dozens of YD sites. This article examines why scientists so readily accepted the early false claims of irreproducibility and what lessons the premature rejection of the YDIH holds for science.
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21
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Kobayashi K, Mita H, Kebukawa Y, Nakagawa K, Kaneko T, Obayashi Y, Sato T, Yokoo T, Minematsu S, Fukuda H, Oguri Y, Yoda I, Yoshida S, Kanda K, Imai E, Yano H, Hashimoto H, Yokobori SI, Yamagishi A. Space Exposure of Amino Acids and Their Precursors during the Tanpopo Mission. Astrobiology 2021; 21:1479-1493. [PMID: 34793260 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Amino acids have been detected in extraterrestrial bodies such as carbonaceous chondrites (CCs), which suggests that extraterrestrial organics could be the source of the first life on Earth, and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) or micrometeorites (MMs) are promising carriers of extraterrestrial organic carbon. Some amino acids found in CCs are amino acid precursors, but these have not been well characterized. The Tanpopo mission was conducted in Earth orbit from 2015 to 2019, and the stability of glycine (Gly), hydantoin (Hyd), isovaline (Ival), 5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin (EMHyd), and complex organics formed by proton irradiation from CO, NH3, and H2O (CAW) in space were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and/or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The target substances showed a logarithmic decomposition over 1-3 years upon space exposure. Recoveries of Gly and CAW were higher than those of Hyd, Ival, and EMHyd. Ground simulation experiments showed different results: Hyd was more stable than Gly. Solar ultraviolet light was fatal to all organics, and they required protection when carried by IDPs/MMs. Thus, complex amino acid precursors (such as CAW) were possibly more robust than simple precursors during transportation to primitive Earth. The Tanpopo 2 mission is currently being conducted to expose organics to more probable space conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kensei Kobayashi
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Hajime Mita
- Department of Life, Environment and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yoko Kebukawa
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kazumichi Nakagawa
- The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
| | - Takeo Kaneko
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Yumiko Obayashi
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Tomohito Sato
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Takuya Yokoo
- Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Saaya Minematsu
- Department of Life, Environment and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan
| | | | | | - Isao Yoda
- Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Yoshida
- National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Kanda
- University of Hyogo, Kamigori-cho, Ako-gun, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Eiichi Imai
- Department of Bioengineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan
| | - Hajime Yano
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Hashimoto
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Yokobori
- School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akihiko Yamagishi
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
- School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
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22
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Lymer EA, Konstantinidis M, Lalla EA, Daly MG, Tait KT. UV Time-Resolved Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Amino Acids Found in Meteorites: Implications for Space Science and Exploration. Astrobiology 2021; 21:1350-1362. [PMID: 34314603 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is a useful laboratory and in situ technique for planetary exploration, with applications in biosignature detection and the search for life on Mars. However, little work has been completed on the utility of fluorescence spectroscopy techniques on asteroid relevant material. In preparation for asteroid sample return missions such as NASA's OSIRIS-REx and JAXA's Hayabusa2, we conducted UV time resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TR-LIF) analysis of 10 amino acids, all of which have been found in the carbonaceous meteorites Murchison and Allende. We present the calculation of decay rates of each amino acid (1.55-3.56 ns) and compare with those of relevant homogeneous minerals (15-70 ns). Moreover, we demonstrate a linear relationship between calculated lifetimes and elemental abundance of nitrogen and carbon (p < 0.025). The quantitative and qualitative fluorescence analyses presented in this work will lead to more reliable identification of organic material within meteorites and asteroids in a time-efficient, minimally destructive way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Lymer
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Menelaos Konstantinidis
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Emmanuel A Lalla
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Michael G Daly
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kimberly T Tait
- Department of Natural History, Centre for Applied Planetary Mineralogy, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
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23
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Kovács A, Lewis LH, Palanisamy D, Denneulin T, Schwedt A, Scott ER, Gault B, Raabe D, Dunin-Borkowski RE, Charilaou M. Discovery and Implications of Hidden Atomic-Scale Structure in a Metallic Meteorite. Nano Lett 2021; 21:8135-8142. [PMID: 34529916 PMCID: PMC8519181 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Iron and its alloys have made modern civilization possible, with metallic meteorites providing one of the human's earliest sources of usable iron as well as providing a window into our solar system's billion-year history. Here highest-resolution tools reveal the existence of a previously hidden FeNi nanophase within the extremely slowly cooled metallic meteorite NWA 6259. This new nanophase exists alongside Ni-poor and Ni-rich nanoprecipitates within a matrix of tetrataenite, the uniaxial, chemically ordered form of FeNi. The ferromagnetic nature of the nanoprecipitates combined with the antiferromagnetic character of the FeNi nanophases gives rise to a complex magnetic state that evolves dramatically with temperature. These observations extend and possibly alter our understanding of celestial metallurgy, provide new knowledge concerning the archetypal Fe-Ni phase diagram and supply new information for the development of new types of sustainable, technologically critical high-energy magnets.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Kovács
- Ernst
Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum
Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Laura H. Lewis
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Department
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | | | - Thibaud Denneulin
- Ernst
Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum
Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Alexander Schwedt
- Central
Facility for Electron Microscopy, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Edward R.D. Scott
- Hawaii
Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Baptiste Gault
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Eisenforschung, 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Department
of Materials, Royal School of Mines, Imperial
College London, London, SW7 2BP, U.K.
| | - Dierk Raabe
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Eisenforschung, 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski
- Ernst
Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum
Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Michalis Charilaou
- Department
of Physics, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504, United States
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24
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Abstract
The martian meteorite ALH 84001 formed before ∼4.0 Ga, so it could have preserved information about habitability on early Mars and habitability since then. ALH 84001 is particularly important as it contains carbonate (and other) minerals that were deposited by liquid water, raising the chance that they may have formed in a habitable environment. Despite vigorous efforts from the scientific community, there is no accepted evidence that ALH 84001 contains traces or markers of ancient martian life-all the purported signs have been shown to be incorrect or ambiguous. However, the meteorite provides evidence for three distinct episodes of potentially habitable environments on early Mars. First is evidence that the meteorite's precursors interacted with clay-rich material, formed approximately at 4.2 Ga. Second is that igneous olivine crystals in ALH 84001 were partially dissolved and removed, presumably by liquid water. Third is, of course, the deposition of the carbonate globules, which occurred at ∼15-25°C and involved near-neutral to alkaline waters. The environments of olivine dissolution and carbonate deposition are not known precisely; hydrothermal and soil environments are current possibilities. By analogies with similar alteration minerals and sequences in the nakhlite martian meteorites and volcanic rocks from Spitzbergen (Norway), a hydrothermal environment is favored. As with the nakhlite alterations, those in ALH 84001 likely formed in a hydrothermal system related to a meteoroid impact event. Following deposition of the carbonates (at 3.95 Ga), ALH 84001 preserves no evidence of habitable environments, that is, interaction with water. The meteorite contains several materials (formed by impact shock at ∼3.9 Ga) that should have reacted readily with water to form hydrous silicates, but there is no evidence any formed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan H Treiman
- Lunar and Planetary Institute / Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
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25
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Tarnas JD, Mustard JF, Sherwood Lollar B, Stamenković V, Cannon KM, Lorand JP, Onstott TC, Michalski JR, Warr O, Palumbo AM, Plesa AC. Earth-like Habitable Environments in the Subsurface of Mars. Astrobiology 2021; 21:741-756. [PMID: 33885329 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In Earth's deep continental subsurface, where groundwaters are often isolated for >106 to 109 years, energy released by radionuclides within rock produces oxidants and reductants that drive metabolisms of non-photosynthetic microorganisms. Similar processes could support past and present life in the martian subsurface. Sulfate-reducing microorganisms are common in Earth's deep subsurface, often using hydrogen derived directly from radiolysis of pore water and sulfate derived from oxidation of rock-matrix-hosted sulfides by radiolytically derived oxidants. Radiolysis thus produces redox energy to support a deep biosphere in groundwaters isolated from surface substrate input for millions to billions of years on Earth. Here, we demonstrate that radiolysis by itself could produce sufficient redox energy to sustain a habitable environment in the subsurface of present-day Mars, one in which Earth-like microorganisms could survive wherever groundwater exists. We show that the source localities for many martian meteorites are capable of producing sufficient redox nutrients to sustain up to millions of sulfate-reducing microbial cells per kilogram rock via radiolysis alone, comparable to cell densities observed in many regions of Earth's deep subsurface. Additionally, we calculate variability in supportable sulfate-reducing cell densities between the martian meteorite source regions. Our results demonstrate that martian subsurface groundwaters, where present, would largely be habitable for sulfate-reducing bacteria from a redox energy perspective via radiolysis alone. We present evidence for crustal regions that could support especially high cell densities, including zones with high sulfide concentrations, which could be targeted by future subsurface exploration missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Tarnas
- Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - J F Mustard
- Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | - V Stamenković
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - K M Cannon
- Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA
- Space Resources Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA
| | - J-P Lorand
- Université de Nantes Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - T C Onstott
- Princeton University Department of Geosciences, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - J R Michalski
- University of Hong Kong Division of Earth & Planetary Science, Hong Kong
| | - O Warr
- University of Toronto Department of Earth Sciences, Toronto, Canada
| | - A M Palumbo
- Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - A-C Plesa
- German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
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Gómez de Castro AI, De Isidro-Gómez AI. Constraints for Use of Ultraviolet Spectropolarimetry to Detect Chiral Amino Acids from Comets. Astrobiology 2021; 21:718-728. [PMID: 33798393 PMCID: PMC8219194 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Life is pervasive on planet Earth, but whether life is ubiquitous in the Galaxy and sustainable over timescales comparable to stellar evolution is unknown. Evidence suggests that life first appeared on Earth more than 3.77 Gyr ago, during a period of heavy meteoric bombardment. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, have been demonstrated to exist in interstellar ice. As such, the contribution of space-generated amino acids to those existing on Earth should be considered. However, detection of space amino acids is challenging. In this study, we used analytical data from several meteorites and in situ measurements of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko collected by the Rosetta probe to evaluate the detectability of alanine by ultraviolet spectropolarimetry. Alanine is the second-most abundant amino acid after glycine and is optically active. This chirality produces a unique signature that enables reliable identification of this amino acid using the imprint of optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) and circular dichroism (CD) in the ultraviolet spectrum (130-230 nm). Here, we show that the ORD signature could be detected in comets by using ultraviolet spectropolarimetric observations conducted at middle size space observatories. These observations can also provide crucial information for the study of sources of enantiomeric imbalance on Earth.
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Viennet JC, Bernard S, Le Guillou C, Sautter V, Grégoire B, Jambon A, Pont S, Beyssac O, Zanda B, Hewins R, Remusat L. Martian Magmatic Clay Minerals Forming Vesicles: Perfect Niches for Emerging Life? Astrobiology 2021; 21:605-612. [PMID: 33684326 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Mars was habitable in its early history, but the consensus is that it is quite inhospitable today, in particular because its modern climate cannot support stable liquid water at the surface. Here, we report the presence of magmatic Fe/Mg clay minerals within the mesostasis of the martian meteorite NWA 5790, an unaltered 1.3 Ga nakhlite archetypal of the martian crust. These magmatic clay minerals exhibit a vesicular texture that forms a network of microcavities or pockets, which could serve as microreactors and allow molecular crowding, a necessary step for the emergence of life. Because their formation does not depend on climate, such niches for emerging life may have been generated on Mars at many periods throughout its history, regardless of the stability or availability of liquid water at the surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Christophe Viennet
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Bernard
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Corentin Le Guillou
- Université Lille, CNRS, INRA, ENSCL, UMR 8207 - UMET - Unité Matériaux et Transformations, Lille, France
| | - Violaine Sautter
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Brian Grégoire
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Poitiers, UMR 7285 IC2MP-Hydrasa, Poitiers, France
| | - Albert Jambon
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Pont
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Beyssac
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Brigitte Zanda
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Roger Hewins
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Laurent Remusat
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Minéralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
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Abstract
The new Cuban chondrite, Viñales, fell on February first, 2019 at Pinar del Rio, northwest of Cuba (22°37'10″N, 83°44'34″W). A total of about 50-100 kg of the meteorite were collected and the masses of individual samples are in a range 2-1100 g. Two polished thin sections were studied by optical microscope, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis in this study. The meteorite mainly consists of olivine (Fa24.6), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs20.5), and troilite and Fe-Ni metal, with minor amounts of feldspar (Ab82.4-84.7). Three poorly metamorphosed porphyritic olivine-pyroxene and barred olivine chondrules are observed. The homogeneous chemical compositions and petrographic textures indicate that Viñales is a L6 chondrite. The Viñales has fresh black fusion crust with layered structure, indicating it experienced a high temperature of ∼1650°C during atmospheric entry. Black shock melt veins with width of 100-600 μm are pervasive in the Viñales and olivine, bronzite, and metal phases are dominate minerals of the shock melt vein. The shock features of major silicate minerals suggest a shock stage S3, partly S4, and the shock pressure could be >10 GPa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Yin
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Resource Utilization, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, China
| | - Deqiu Dai
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Resource Utilization, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, China
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29
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Masuda S, Furukawa Y, Kobayashi T, Sekine T, Kakegawa T. Experimental Investigation of the Formation of Formaldehyde by Hadean and Noachian Impacts. Astrobiology 2021; 21:413-420. [PMID: 33784199 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Formaldehyde (FA) is an important precursor in the abiotic synthesis of major biomolecules including amino acids, sugars, and nucleobases. Thus, spontaneous formation of prebiotic FA must have been crucial for the chemical origin of life. The frequent impacts of meteorites and asteroids on Hadean Earth have been considered one of the abiotic synthetic processes of organic compounds. However, the impact-induced formation of FA from CO2 as the major atmospheric constituent has not been confirmed yet. This study investigated the formation of FA in impact-induced reactions among meteoritic minerals, bicarbonate, gaseous nitrogen, and water to simulate the abiotic process experimentally. Products were analyzed with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. The results show the formation of FA and oxidation of metallic iron to siderite in the impact shock experiments. This indicates that this important prebiotic molecule was also synthesized by impacts of iron-bearing meteorites/asteroids on the Hadean oceans. The impact events might have generated spatially and temporally FA-enriched localized environments. Moreover, the impact-induced synthesis of FA may have also occurred on Noachian Mars given the presence of liquid water and a CO2-N2-rich atmosphere on the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeka Masuda
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | | | | | - Toshimori Sekine
- Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai, China
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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30
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Abstract
Viroids are non-coding circular RNA molecules with rod-like or branched structures. They are often ribozymes, characterized by catalytic RNA. They can perform many basic functions of life and may have played a role in evolution since the beginning of life on Earth. They can cleave, join, replicate, and undergo Darwinian evolution. Furthermore, ribozymes are the essential elements for protein synthesis of cellular organisms as parts of ribosomes. Thus, they must have preceded DNA and proteins during evolution. Here, we discuss the current evidence for viroids or viroid-like RNAs as a likely origin of life on Earth. As such, they may also be considered as models for life on other planets or moons in the solar system as well as on exoplanets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Moelling
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastr 30, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for molecular Genetics, Ihnestr. 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(172)-3274306
| | - Felix Broecker
- Vaxxilon Deutschland GmbH, Magnusstr. 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany;
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31
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Gasper GEM, Tanner BK. 'The moon quivered like a snake': A medieval chronicler, lunar explosions, and a puzzle for modern interpretation. Endeavour 2020; 44:100750. [PMID: 33518392 DOI: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2021.100750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Despite some scepticism, the suggestion by Hartung in 1976 that the report in the chronicle of Gervase of Canterbury corresponded to a meteorite impact with the moon in 1178, creating the Giordano Bruno crater, retains considerable support, particularly in popular scientific writing. Nevertheless, a series of studies of images of the crater from orbiting satellites, although confirming its young geological age, have indicated that it was not created within recorded human history. In this paper, we examine astronomical entries in Gervase's chronicle relating to eclipses and conclude that, despite there being descriptions of miracles elsewhere in the manuscript, he himself was a reliable reporter of astronomical events. On this basis an alternative suggestion can be put forward for the splitting of the horns and writhing of the body of the new moon, reported to Gervase: atmospheric turbulence. Although general atmospheric turbulence has been previously dismissed as too small an effect, it is possible to show that the description is consistent with viewing the new moon through a column of hot air from a fire, at a moderate distance and out of the line of sight of the observers. This interpretation of the medieval evidence as credible but unrelated to a lunar event is consistent with twenty-first century lunar studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giles E M Gasper
- Department of History, Durham University, 43 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3EX, UK.
| | - Brian K Tanner
- Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
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32
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Singh SV, Vishakantaiah J, Meka JK, Sivaprahasam V, Chandrasekaran V, Thombre R, Thiruvenkatam V, Mallya A, Rajasekhar BN, Muruganantham M, Datey A, Hill H, Bhardwaj A, Jagadeesh G, Reddy KPJ, Mason NJ, Sivaraman B. Shock Processing of Amino Acids Leading to Complex Structures-Implications to the Origin of Life. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25235634. [PMID: 33265981 PMCID: PMC7730583 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25235634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The building blocks of life, amino acids, are believed to have been synthesized in the extreme conditions that prevail in space, starting from simple molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, the fate and role of amino acids when they are subjected to similar processes largely remain unexplored. Here we report, for the first time, that shock processed amino acids tend to form complex agglomerate structures. Such structures are formed on timescales of about 2 ms due to impact induced shock heating and subsequent cooling. This discovery suggests that the building blocks of life could have self-assembled not just on Earth but on other planetary bodies as a result of impact events. Our study also provides further experimental evidence for the ‘threads’ observed in meteorites being due to assemblages of (bio)molecules arising from impact-induced shocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surendra V. Singh
- Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India; (S.V.S.); (J.K.M.)
- Discipline of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382355, India
| | - Jayaram Vishakantaiah
- Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India;
| | - Jaya K. Meka
- Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India; (S.V.S.); (J.K.M.)
| | - Vijayan Sivaprahasam
- Planetary Science Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India; (V.S.); (A.B.)
| | | | - Rebecca Thombre
- Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune 411005, India;
| | - Vijay Thiruvenkatam
- Discipline of Biological Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar 382355, India;
| | - Ambresh Mallya
- Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India;
| | | | | | - Akshay Datey
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India; (A.D.); (G.J.); (K.P.J.R.)
| | - Hugh Hill
- Physical Sciences, International Space University, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France;
| | - Anil Bhardwaj
- Planetary Science Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India; (V.S.); (A.B.)
| | - Gopalan Jagadeesh
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India; (A.D.); (G.J.); (K.P.J.R.)
| | - Kalidevapura P. J. Reddy
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India; (A.D.); (G.J.); (K.P.J.R.)
| | - Nigel J. Mason
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, UK
- Correspondence: (N.J.M.); (B.S.)
| | - Bhalamurugan Sivaraman
- Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009, India; (S.V.S.); (J.K.M.)
- Correspondence: (N.J.M.); (B.S.)
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33
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Domínguez-Andrés J, Eleveld M, Renieris G, Boltje TJ, Mesman RJ, van Niftrik L, Moons SJ, Rettberg P, van der Meer JWM, Giamarellos-Bourboulis EJ, Op den Camp HJM, de Jonge MI, Netea MG. Growth on Carbohydrates from Carbonaceous Meteorites Alters the Immunogenicity of Environment-Derived Bacterial Pathogens. Astrobiology 2020; 20:1353-1362. [PMID: 32391711 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in space exploration. Public and private institutions are investing considerable effort toward the direct exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as more distant bodies in the solar system. Both automated and human-crewed spacecraft are being considered in these efforts. As inevitable fellow travelers on the bodies of astronauts, spaceships, or equipment, terrestrial microorganisms will undoubtedly come into contact with extraterrestrial environments, despite stringent decontamination. These microorganisms could eventually adapt and grow in their new habitats, where they might potentially recolonize and lead to the infection of the human space travelers. In this article, we demonstrate that clinically relevant bacterial species found in the environment are able to grow in minimal media with sugar compounds identified in extraterrestrial carbon sources. As a surrogate model, we used carbohydrates previously isolated from carbonaceous meteorites. The bacteria underwent an adaptation process that caused structural modifications in the cell envelope that sparked changes in pathogenic potential, both in vitro and in vivo. Understanding the adaptation of microorganisms exposed to extraterrestrial environments, with subsequent changes in their immunogenicity and virulence, requires a comprehensive analysis of such scenarios to ensure the safety of major space expeditions in the decades to come.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Domínguez-Andrés
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marc Eleveld
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Section Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Georgios Renieris
- 4th Department of Internal Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece
| | - Thomas J Boltje
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Rob J Mesman
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura van Niftrik
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Sam J Moons
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Petra Rettberg
- Research Group Astrobiology, Radiation Biology Department, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Köln, Germany
| | - Jos W M van der Meer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Huub J M Op den Camp
- Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Marien I de Jonge
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Section Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Mihai G Netea
- Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department for Genomics & Immunoregulation, Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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34
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Abstract
Over 200 molecules have been detected in multiple extraterrestrial environments, including glycolaldehyde (C2(H2O)2, GLA), a two-carbon sugar precursor that has been detected in regions of the interstellar medium. Its recent in situ detection on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and through remote observations in the comae of others provides tantalizing evidence that it is common on most (if not all) comets. Impact experiments conducted at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center have shown that samples of GLA and GLA mixed with montmorillonite clays can survive impact delivery in the pressure range of 4.5 to 25 GPa. Extrapolated to amounts of GLA observed on individual comets and assuming a monotonic impact rate in the first billion years of Solar System history, these experimental results show that up to 1023 kg of cometary GLA could have survived impact delivery, with substantial amounts of threose, erythrose, glycolic acid, and ethylene glycol also produced or delivered. Importantly, independent of the profile of the impact flux in the early Solar System, comet delivery of GLA would have provided (and may continue to provide) a reservoir of starting material for the formose reaction (to form ribose) and the Strecker reaction (to form amino acids). Thus, comets may have been important delivery vehicles for starting molecules necessary for life as we know it.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jayden H E Butler
- Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, Michigan, USA
- Department of Physics, California State University - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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35
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Abstract
Delivery of water and organics by asteroid and comet impacts may have influenced prebiotic chemistry on the early Earth. Some recent prebiotic chemistry experiments emphasize hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a feedstock molecule for the formation of sugars, ribonucleotides, amino acids, and lipid precursors. Here, we assess how much HCN originally contained in a comet would survive impact, using parametric temperature and pressure profiles together with a time-dependent chemistry model. We find that HCN survival mainly depends on whether the impact is hot enough to thermally decompose H2O into reactive radicals, and HCN is therefore rather insensitive to the details of the chemistry. In the most favorable impacts (low impact angle, low velocity, small radius), this temperature threshold is not reached, and intact delivery of HCN is possible. We estimate the global delivery of HCN during a period of Early and Late Heavy Bombardment of the early Earth, as well as local HCN concentrations achieved by individual impacts. In the latter case, comet impacts can provide prebiotically interesting HCN levels for thousands to millions of years, depending on properties of the impactor and of the local environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe R Todd
- Department of Astronomy, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Karin I Öberg
- Department of Astronomy, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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36
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Abstract
The conditions, timing, and setting for the origin of life on Earth and whether life exists elsewhere in our solar system and beyond represent some of the most fundamental scientific questions of our time. Although the bombardment of planets and satellites by asteroids and comets has long been viewed as a destructive process that would have presented a barrier to the emergence of life and frustrated or extinguished life, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of data and observations on the beneficial role of impacts in a wide range of prebiotic and biological processes. In the context of previously proposed environments for the origin of life on Earth, we discuss how meteorite impacts can generate both subaerial and submarine hydrothermal vents, abundant hydrothermal-sedimentary settings, and impact analogues for volcanic pumice rafts and splash pools. Impact events can also deliver and/or generate many of the necessary chemical ingredients for life and catalytic substrates such as clays as well. The role that impact cratering plays in fracturing planetary crusts and its effects on deep subsurface habitats for life are also discussed. In summary, we propose that meteorite impact events are a fundamental geobiological process in planetary evolution that played an important role in the origin of life on Earth. We conclude with the recommendation that impact craters should be considered prime sites in the search for evidence of past life on Mars. Furthermore, unlike other geological processes such as volcanism or plate tectonics, impact cratering is ubiquitous on planetary bodies throughout the Universe and is independent of size, composition, and distance from the host star. Impact events thus provide a mechanism with the potential to generate habitable planets, moons, and asteroids throughout the Solar System and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- G.R. Osinski
- Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Address correspondence to: Dr. Gordon Osinski, Department of Earth Sciences, 1151 Richmond Street, University of Western Ontario, London ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - C.S. Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A. Pontefract
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - H.M. Sapers
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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37
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Famiano MA, Boyd RN, Kajino T, Chiba S, Mo Y, Onaka T, Suzuki T. Explaining the Variations in Isotopic Ratios in Meteoritic Amino Acids. Astrobiology 2020; 20:964-976. [PMID: 32783564 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Measurements of the isotopic abundances in meteoritic amino acids have found enhancements of 2H/H, 15N/14N, and 13C/12C in the amino acids in the meteorites studied. We show that they are consistent with the processing of the constituents of the meteorites by electron antineutrinos that would be expected from a core-collapse supernova or neutron-star merger. Using theoretical electron antineutrino cross-sections, we are able to predict these isotopic ratio variations depending on the time-integrated antineutrino flux at the site where the amino acids were processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Famiano
- Department of Physics and Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
- School of Physics, Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Richard N Boyd
- Department of Physics, Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Toshitaka Kajino
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
- School of Physics, Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Beijing, P.R. China
- Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Chiba
- School of Physics, Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Beijing, P.R. China
- Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yirong Mo
- Department of Chemistry, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
| | - Takashi Onaka
- Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Physics, Meisei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshio Suzuki
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Physics, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
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38
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Potiszil C, Tanaka R, Kobayashi K, Kunihiro T, Nakamura E. The Albedo of Ryugu: Evidence for a High Organic Abundance, as Inferred from the Hayabusa2 Touchdown Maneuver. Astrobiology 2020; 20:916-921. [PMID: 32543220 PMCID: PMC7368384 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The Hayabusa2 mission successfully collected samples from the asteroid Ryugu last year and will return these to Earth in December 2020. It is anticipated that the samples will enable the analysis of terrestrially uncontaminated organic matter and minerals. Such analyses are in turn expected to elucidate the evolution of organic matter through Solar System history, including the origination and processing of biogenically important molecules, which could have been utilized by the first organisms on Earth. In anticipation, studies have made predictions concerning the properties of Ryugu, including its composition. The spectral characteristics of Ryugu, such as albedo, have been employed to relate the asteroid to members of the carbonaceous chondrite group that have been identified on Earth. However, the recent Hayabusa2 touchdown highlights a disparity between the color of surfaces of displaced platy fragments, indicating a brightening trend for the surface exposed to space compared to that facing into the body. Here we present a mass balance calculation with reference to data from the literature, which indicates that Ryugu may contain a significantly higher abundance of organic matter (likely >50%) than the currently most accepted meteorite analogues. A high organic content may result in high levels of extractable organic matter for the second touchdown site, where the spacecraft sampled freshly exposed material. However, high abundances of insoluble aromatic/graphitic rich organic matter may be present in the first touchdown site, which sampled the surface of Ryugu that had been exposed to space. Moreover, we suggest that the potentially high organic abundance and the rubble-pile nature of Ryugu may originate from the capture of rocky debris by a comet nucleus and subsequent water-organic-mineral interactions and sublimation of water ice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Potiszil
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Ryoji Tanaka
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Katsura Kobayashi
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Tak Kunihiro
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
| | - Eizo Nakamura
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Misasa, Tottori, Japan
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Abstract
The question whether organic compounds occur on Mars remained unanswered for decades. However, the recent discovery of various classes of organic matter in martian sediments by the Curiosity rover seems to strongly suggest that indigenous organic compounds exist on Mars. One intriguing group of detected organic compounds were thiophenes, which typically occur on Earth in kerogen, coal, and crude oil as well as in stromatolites and microfossils. Here we provide a brief synopsis of conceivable pathways for the generation and degradation of thiophenes on Mars. We show that the origin of thiophene derivatives can either be biotic or abiotic, for example, through sulfur incorporation in organic matter during early diagenesis. The potential of thiophenes to represent martian biomarkers is discussed as well as a correlation between abundances of thiophenes and sulfate-bearing minerals. Finally, this study provides suggestions for future investigations on Mars and in Earth-based laboratories to answer the question whether the martian thiophenes are of biological origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Heinz
- Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ZAA), Astrobiology Research Group, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dirk Schulze-Makuch
- Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ZAA), Astrobiology Research Group, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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40
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Tait AW, Gagen EJ, Wilson SA, Tomkins AG, Southam G. Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A "Microfluidics" Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. Astrobiology 2020; 20:364-374. [PMID: 31873039 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The advent of microfluidics has revolutionized the way we understand how microorganisms propagate through microporous spaces. Here, we apply this understanding to the study of how endolithic environmental microorganisms colonize the interiors of sterile rock. The substrates used for our study are stony meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia; a semiarid limestone karst that provides an ideal setting for preserving meteorites. Periodic flooding of the Nullarbor provides a mechanism by which microorganisms and exogenous nutrients may infiltrate meteorites. Our laboratory experiments show that environmental microorganisms reach depths greater than 400 μm by propagating through existing brecciation, passing through cracks no wider than the diameter of a resident cell (i.e., ∼5 μm). Our observations are consistent with the propagation of these eukaryotic cells via growth and cell division rather than motility. The morphology of the microorganisms changed as a result of propagation through micrometer-scale cracks, as has been observed previously for bacteria on microfluidic chips. It has been suggested that meteorites could have served as preferred habitats for microorganisms on ancient Mars. Based on our results, the depths reached by terrestrial microorganisms within meteorites would be sufficient to mitigate against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, such as UV light, in Earth's deserts and potentially on Mars, if similar processes of microbial colonization had once been active there. Thus, meteorites landing in ancient lakes on Mars, that later dried out, could have been some of the last inhabited locations on the surface, serving as refugia before the planet's surface became inhospitable. Finally, our observations suggest that terrestrial microorganisms can colonize very fine cracks within meteorites (and potentially spaceships and rovers) on unexpectedly short timescales, with important implications for both recognition of extraterrestrial life in returned geological samples and planetary protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair W Tait
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
| | - Emma J Gagen
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia
| | - Siobhan A Wilson
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Andrew G Tomkins
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Gordon Southam
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia
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McLoughlin N, Grosch EG, Vullum PE, Guagliardo P, Saunders M, Wacey D. Critically testing olivine-hosted putative martian biosignatures in the Yamato 000593 meteorite-Geobiological implications. Geobiology 2019; 17:691-707. [PMID: 31478592 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
On rocky planets such as Earth and Mars the serpentinization of olivine in ultramafic crust produces hydrogen that can act as a potential energy source for life. Direct evidence of fluid-rock interaction on Mars comes from iddingsite alteration veins found in martian meteorites. In the Yamato 000593 meteorite, putative biosignatures have been reported from altered olivines in the form of microtextures and associated organic material that have been compared to tubular bioalteration textures found in terrestrial sub-seafloor volcanic rocks. Here, we use a suite of correlative, high-sensitivity, in situ chemical, and morphological analyses to characterize and re-evaluate these microalteration textures in Yamato 000593, a clinopyroxenite from the shallow subsurface of Mars. We show that the altered olivine crystals have angular and micro-brecciated margins and are also highly strained due to impact-induced fracturing. The shape of the olivine microalteration textures is in no way comparable to microtunnels of inferred biological origin found in terrestrial volcanic glasses and dunites, and rather we argue that the Yamato 000593 microtextures are abiotic in origin. Vein filling iddingsite extends into the olivine microalteration textures and contains amorphous organic carbon occurring as bands and sub-spherical concentrations <300 nm across. We propose that a martian impact event produced the micro-brecciated olivine crystal margins that reacted with subsurface hydrothermal fluids to form iddingsite containing organic carbon derived from abiotic sources. These new data have implications for how we might seek potential biosignatures in ultramafic rocks and impact craters on both Mars and Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eugene G Grosch
- Department of Geology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Per Erik Vullum
- SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Paul Guagliardo
- Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Martin Saunders
- Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Wacey
- Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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Kahana A, Schmitt-Kopplin P, Lancet D. Enceladus: First Observed Primordial Soup Could Arbitrate Origin-of-Life Debate. Astrobiology 2019; 19:1263-1278. [PMID: 31328961 PMCID: PMC6785169 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
A recent breakthrough publication has reported complex organic molecules in the plumes emanating from the subglacial water ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus (Postberg et al., 2018, Nature 558:564-568). Based on detailed chemical scrutiny, the authors invoke primordial or endogenously synthesized carbon-rich monomers (<200 u) and polymers (up to 8000 u). This appears to represent the first reported extraterrestrial organics-rich water body, a conceivable milieu for early steps in life's origin ("prebiotic soup"). One may ask which origin-of-life scenario appears more consistent with the reported molecular configurations on Enceladus. The observed monomeric organics are carbon-rich unsaturated molecules, vastly different from present-day metabolites, amino acids, and nucleotide bases, but quite chemically akin to simple lipids. The organic polymers are proposed to resemble terrestrial insoluble kerogens and humic substances, as well as refractory organic macromolecules found in carbonaceous chondritic meteorites. The authors posit that such polymers, upon long-term hydrous interactions, might break down to micelle-forming amphiphiles. In support of this, published detailed analyses of the Murchison chondrite are dominated by an immense diversity of likely amphiphilic monomers. Our specific quantitative model for compositionally reproducing lipid micelles is amphiphile-based and benefits from a pronounced organic diversity. It thus contrasts with other origin models, which require the presence of very specific building blocks and are expected to be hindered by excess of irrelevant compounds. Thus, the Enceladus finds support the possibility of a pre-RNA Lipid World scenario for life's origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kahana
- Department of Molecular Genetics, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin
- Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München, Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Doron Lancet
- Department of Molecular Genetics, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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43
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Betts BH, Warmflash D, Fraze RE, Friedman L, Vorobyova E, Lilburn TG, Smith A, Rettberg P, Jönsson KI, Ciftcioglu N, Fox GE, Svitek T, Kirschvinck JL, Moeller R, Wassmann M, Berger T. Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment). Astrobiology 2019; 19:1177-1185. [PMID: 31397580 PMCID: PMC6775494 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The Planetary Society's Phobos Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (Phobos LIFE) flew in the sample return capsule of the Russian Federal Space Agency's Phobos Grunt mission and was to have been a test of one aspect of the hypothesis that life can move between nearby planets within ejected rocks. Although the Phobos Grunt mission failed, we present here the scientific and engineering design and motivation of the Phobos LIFE experiment to assist with the scientific and engineering design of similar future experiments. Phobos LIFE flew selected organisms in a simulated meteoroid. The 34-month voyage would have been the first such test to occur in the high-radiation environment outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere for more than a few days. The patented Phobos LIFE "biomodule" is an 88 g cylinder consisting of a titanium outer shell, several types of redundant seals, and 31 individual Delrin sample containers. Phobos LIFE contained 10 different organisms, representing all three domains of life, and one soil sample. The organisms are all very well characterized, most with sequenced genomes. Most are extremophiles, and most have flown in low Earth orbit. Upon return from space, the health and characteristics of organisms were to have been compared with controls that remained on Earth and have not yet been opened.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Raymond E. Fraze
- Stellar Exploration, Inc., San Luis Obispo, California, USA
- Vector Design, Hereford, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Elena Vorobyova
- Space Research Institute (IKI), Moscow, Russia
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Amy Smith
- George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, USA
| | - Petra Rettberg
- German Aerospace Center (DLR e. V.), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Cologne (Köln), Germany
| | - K. Ingemar Jönsson
- Department of Environmental Science and Bioscience, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
| | | | | | - Tomas Svitek
- Stellar Exploration, Inc., San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Joseph L. Kirschvinck
- Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ralf Moeller
- German Aerospace Center (DLR e. V.), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Cologne (Köln), Germany
| | - Marko Wassmann
- German Aerospace Center (DLR e. V.), Executive Board Division Space Research and Development, Programme Space R&D, Cologne (Köln), Germany
| | - Thomas Berger
- German Aerospace Center (DLR e. V.), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Cologne (Köln), Germany
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44
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Baratta GA, Accolla M, Chaput D, Cottin H, Palumbo ME, Strazzulla G. Photolysis of Cometary Organic Dust Analogs on the EXPOSE-R2 Mission at the International Space Station. Astrobiology 2019; 19:1018-1036. [PMID: 30653337 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We describe the results obtained on a set of organic samples that have been part of the experiment "Photochemistry on the Space Station (PSS)" on the EXPOSE-R2 mission conducted on the EXPOSE-R facility situated outside the International Space Station (ISS). The organic samples were prepared in the Catania laboratory by 200 keV He+ irradiation of N2:CH4:CO icy mixtures deposited at 17 K, on vacuum UV (VUV) transparent MgF2 windows. This organic material contains different chemical groups, including triple CN bonds, that are thought to be of interest for astrobiology. It is widely accepted that materials similar to that produced in the laboratory by ion irradiation of frozen ices could be present in some astrophysical environments such as comets. Once expelled from comets, these materials are exposed to solar radiation during their interplanetary journey. In the young Solar System, some of these processed materials could have reached early Earth and contributed to its chemical and prebiotic evolution. The samples were exposed for 16 months to the unshielded solar UV photons. It was found that, if an interplanetary dust particle (IDP) containing organic material (50% vol) is large enough (>20-30 μm), relevant chemical groups, such as those containing the CN triple bond, can survive for many years (>104 years) in the interplanetary medium.
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Affiliation(s)
- G A Baratta
- 1INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - M Accolla
- 1INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - D Chaput
- 2Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Centre Spatial de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - H Cottin
- 3Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Créteil, France
| | - M E Palumbo
- 1INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - G Strazzulla
- 1INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Catania, Italy
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45
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Cruz-Rosas HI, Riquelme F, Santiago P, Rendón L, Buhse T, Ortega-Gutiérrez F, Borja-Urby R, Mendoza D, Gaona C, Miramontes P, Cocho G. Multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes from the Allende chondrite: A probable source of asymmetry. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218750. [PMID: 31260466 PMCID: PMC6602194 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study presents multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes found in samples from the Allende carbonaceous chondrite using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). A highly disordered lattice observed in this material suggests the presence of chiral domains in it. Our results also show amorphous and poorly-graphitized carbon, nanodiamonds, and onion-like fullerenes. The presence of multiwall and bamboo-like carbon nanotubes have important implications for hypotheses that explain how a probable source of asymmetry in carbonaceous chondrites might have contributed to the enantiomeric excess in soluble organics under extraterrestrial scenarios. This is the first study proving the existence of carbon nanotubes in carbonaceous chondrites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo I. Cruz-Rosas
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Francisco Riquelme
- Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular, Escuela de Estudios Superiores del Jicarero, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Jicarero, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Patricia Santiago
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Luis Rendón
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Thomas Buhse
- Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Raúl Borja-Urby
- Centro de Nanociencias y Micro y Nanotecnologías, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Doroteo Mendoza
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Carlos Gaona
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Pedro Miramontes
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
| | - Germinal Cocho
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Cd. Mx., Mexico
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Thombre RS, Shivakarthik E, Sivaraman B, Vaishampayan PA, Seuylemezian A, Meka JK, Vijayan S, Kulkarni PP, Pataskar T, Patil BS. Survival of Extremotolerant Bacteria from the Mukundpura Meteorite Impact Crater. Astrobiology 2019; 19:785-796. [PMID: 31081685 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Carbonaceous meteorites provide clues with regard to prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life. Geological Survey of India recorded a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite fall in Mukundpura, India, on June 6, 2017. We conducted a study to investigate the microbial community that survived the meteorite impact. 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing indicates the presence of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria in meteorite impact soil. Comparative phylogenetic analysis revealed an intriguing abundance of class Bacilli in the impact soil. Bacillus thermocopriae IR-1, a moderately thermotolerant organism, was isolated from a rock, impacted by the Mukundpura meteorite. We investigated the resilience of B. thermocopriae IR-1 to environmental stresses and impact shock in a Reddy shock tube. Bacillus thermocopriae IR-1 survived (28.82% survival) the effect of shock waves at a peak shock pressure of 300 kPa, temperature 400 K, and Mach number of 1.47. This investigation presents the first report on the effect of impact shock on B. thermocopriae IR-1. The study is also the first report on studying the microbial diversity and isolation of bacteria from impact crater soil immediately after meteorite impact event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca S Thombre
- 1 Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune, India
| | - E Shivakarthik
- 2 Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
| | - Bhalamurugan Sivaraman
- 2 Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
| | - Parag A Vaishampayan
- 3 Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
| | - Arman Seuylemezian
- 3 Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
| | - J K Meka
- 2 Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
| | - S Vijayan
- 2 Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India
| | - P P Kulkarni
- 1 Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune, India
| | - T Pataskar
- 1 Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune, India
| | - B S Patil
- 1 Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune, India
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47
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Shtyrlin VG, Borissenok VA, Serov NY, Simakov VG, Bragunets VA, Trunin IR, Tereshkina IA, Koshkin SA, Bukharov MS, Gilyazetdinov EM, Shestakov EE, Sirotkina AG, Zakharov AV. Prebiotic Syntheses Under Shock in the Water - Formamide - Potassium Bicarbonate - Sodium Hydroxide System. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2019; 49:1-18. [PMID: 31004318 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-019-09575-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Syntheses under shock in nitrogen bubbled samples of the water - formamide - bicarbonate - sodium hydroxide system at pH 8.63, 9.46 and 10.44 were performed in the stainless steel preservation capsules. The maximum temperature and pressure in the capsules reached 545 K and 12.5 GPa respectively. Using the LC-MS-MS analysis, the 21 synthesis products have been identified, including amines and polyamines, carboxamide, acetamide and urea derivatives, compounds containing aniline, pyrrolidine, pyrrole, imidazole, as well as alcohol groups. It was found that the Fischer-Tropsch-type syntheses with catalysis on the surface of the stainless steel of the conservation capsule associated with the adsorbed hydrogen cyanide reactions and transamidation processes play the main role in the shock syntheses. Formation reactions of all the above-mentioned compounds have been suggested. It was proposed that hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, isocyanic acid, aminonitrile, aminoacetonitrile, as well as adsorbed species H(a), CH(a), CH2(a), CHOH(a), NH2(a) and H2CNH(a) are especially important for the formation of the products. A reduction reaction of adsorbed bicarbonate with hydrogen to formaldehyde has been first postulated. In the studied system also classical reactions take place - Wöhler's synthesis of urea and Butlerov's synthesis of methenamine. It was suggest that material of meteorites may be an effective catalyst in the Fischer-Tropsch-type syntheses at falling of the iron-nickel meteorites in the water - formamide regions on the early Earth. It was concluded that life could have originated due to the impact of meteorites on alkaline water-formamide lakes located near volcanoes on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valery G Shtyrlin
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008.
| | - Valery A Borissenok
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
| | - Nikita Yu Serov
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008
| | - Vladimir G Simakov
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
- Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Mir Pr., 37, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607188
| | - Vyacheslav A Bragunets
- Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Mir Pr., 37, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607188
| | - Ivan R Trunin
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
- Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Mir Pr., 37, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607188
| | - Irina A Tereshkina
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
- Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Mir Pr., 37, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607188
| | - Sergey A Koshkin
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008
| | - Mikhail S Bukharov
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008
| | - Edward M Gilyazetdinov
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008
| | - Evgeny E Shestakov
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
- Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, Mir Pr., 37, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607188
| | - Anna G Sirotkina
- Sarov Physical Technical Institute, National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Dukhov St., 6, Sarov, Russian Federation, 607184
| | - Alexey V Zakharov
- A.M. Butlerov Chemistry Institute, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya St., 18, Kazan, Russian Federation, 420008
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Kawai J, Kebukawa Y, McKay CP, Kobayashi K. Nucleic acid bases in Titan tholins and possible genetic systems in the Titan liquidosphere. Life Sci Space Res (Amst) 2019; 20:20-29. [PMID: 30797431 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and possesses a dense atmosphere composed of nitrogen and methane. Various types of organic compounds (hydrocarbons, nitriles, etc.) have been found on Titan, which were generated by reactions taking place in its atmosphere. These reactions are considered to provide crucial evidence for chemical reactions which may have occurred in the atmosphere of primitive Earth. Cassini discovered several lakes of liquid methane and ethane on Titan's surface; in addition, the presence of ammonia water in its sub-surface was implied. In order to simulate the chemical reactions in Titan's atmosphere, gas mixtures of nitrogen and methane have been exposed to plasma discharges to synthesize complex organic matters. In this study, we focused on the formation of nucleic acid bases and related compounds recovered from synthesized Titan tholins. The five nucleic acid bases that terrestrial life uses (adenine, cytosine, thymine, guanine, and uracil) have already been reported to be present in synthesized Titan tholins. Purines and pyrimidines, including the five aforementioned nucleic acid bases, were extracted from synthesized Titan tholins and analyzed by HPLC and LC/MS. As a result, the pyrimidine bases of isocytosine and 2, 4-diaminopyrimidine were detected together with the terrestrial nucleic acid bases of adenine, uracil, and cytosine. The results obtained in conjunction with those from previous studies show that some nucleic acid bases and related pyrimidine bases are found in synthesized Titan tholins, suggesting that chemical evolutions toward xenogenetic systems could occur in Titan's environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Kawai
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0801, Japan.
| | - Yoko Kebukawa
- Yokohama National University, 79-1 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan.
| | | | - Kensei Kobayashi
- Yokohama National University, 79-1 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan.
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Park SY, Park C. Spatially-resolved mineral identification and depth profiling on chondrules from the primitive chondrite Elephant Moraine 14017 with confocal Raman spectroscopy. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 2019; 207:46-53. [PMID: 30195928 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2018.08.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Confocal Raman spectroscopy is effective in unveiling structures of minerals without destruction from surface to certain depth. In this study, we introduce an application of confocal Raman spectroscopy on minerals in a primitive chondritic meteorite. The experimental lateral resolution on silicate minerals in this study is ~1.0 μm. Raman spectrum of mesostasis in a named "Tear Drop" chondrule, a spherule object from a primitive chondrite, of Elephant Moraine 14017 (EET 14017) shows a broad feature indicating amorphous phase, which is a common characteristic of primitive chondrule mesostasis. Weak intensities of 825 and 858 cm-1 peaks were observed in the glassy mesostasis, probably originated from olivine below the surface. A plagioclase-rich chondrule (PRC-1) of EET 14017 was investigated with Raman spectroscopy, which contains two different occurrences of plagioclase: lath-shaped and interstitial grains. The strong intensity of 488 and 505 cm-1 (plagioclase) and weak intensity of 461 cm-1 band were observed on the lath-shaped plagioclase. The weak 461 cm-1 peak from the plagioclase is probably from the subsurface quartz. Raman spectrum of interstital plagioclase in PRC-1 shows 488 and 505 cm-1 bands and weak pyroxene bands. Depth profiling conducted on the interstitial plagioclase clearly shows that pyroxene exists below the surface. High-lateral resolution and well-resolved depth profiling with the confocal Raman spectroscopy allows us to identify tiny grains and investigate hidden phases underneath the surface without destruction of extraterrestrial materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sun Young Park
- Division of Polar Earth-System Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea
| | - Changkun Park
- Division of Polar Earth-System Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea.
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MARGON BRUCE. THE BERT AND PEGGY DUPONT LECTURE: SCIENCE AND CULTURE FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc 2019; 130:200-211. [PMID: 31516184 PMCID: PMC6736000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The Hubble Space Telescope has been in Earth orbit for almost 30 years, returning an amazing variety of scientific discoveries. It can be pointed via ground command to the entire panoply of astronomical objects, from nearby targets in our solar system to the most distant objects in the known universe. While these wonderful scientific results were expected by the project's founders, what have been more surprising are the cultural aspects of the program. Hubble has been embraced by the general public to an extent unprecedented for complex scientific facilities. Not only are its images widely known for their beauty, but the project itself has repeatedly entered the popular lexicon as an example of a technological pinnacle. We present examples of the numerous scientific successes, as well as popular culture memes related to Hubble. Finally, it is also important to ponder the broader question of why we conduct astronomical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- BRUCE MARGON
- Correspondence and reprint requests: Bruce Margon, PhD, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California,
Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064831-459-1596831-459-5265
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