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van der Graaf CM, Sánchez-España J, Ilin AM, Yusta I, Stams AJM, Sánchez-Andrea I. Micrometric pyrite catalyzes abiotic sulfidogenesis from elemental sulfur and hydrogen. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17702. [PMID: 39085257 PMCID: PMC11291890 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66006-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in environments with temperatures below 100 °C is generally assumed to be of microbial origin, while abiotic H2S production is typically restricted to higher temperatures (T). In this study, we report an abiotic process for sulfidogenesis through the reduction of elemental sulfur (S0) by hydrogen (H2), mediated by pyrite (FeS2). The process was investigated in detail at pH 4 and 80 °C, but experimental conditions ranged between 40 and 80 °C and pH 4-6. The experiments were conducted with H2 as reducing molecule, and µm-sized spherical (but not framboidal) pyrite particles that formed in situ from the H2S, S0 and Fe2+ present in the experiments. Fe monosulfides, likely mackinawite, were identified as potential pyrite precursors. The absence of H2 production in controls, combined with geochemical modelling, suggests that pyrite formation occurred through the polysulfide pathway, which is unexpected under acidic conditions. Most spherical aggregates of authigenic pyrite were composed of nanometric, acicular crystals oriented in diverse directions, displaying varying degrees of organization. Although it was initially hypothesized that the catalytic properties were related to the surface structure, commercially sourced, milled pyrite particles (< 50 μm) mediated H2S production at comparable rates. This suggests that the catalytic properties of pyrite depend on particle size rather than surface structure, requiring pyrite surfaces to act as electron shuttles between S0 and H2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte M van der Graaf
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geoscience, Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628CN, Delft, The Netherlands.
| | - Javier Sánchez-España
- Planetary Geology Research Group, Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA), 28850, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Andrey M Ilin
- Department of Geology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Apdo. 644, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Iñaki Yusta
- Department of Geology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Apdo. 644, 48080, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Alfons J M Stams
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Irene Sánchez-Andrea
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Environmental Sciences for Sustainability, IE University, C. Cardenal Zúñiga, 12, 40003, Segovia, Spain.
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Mrnjavac N, Wimmer JLE, Brabender M, Schwander L, Martin WF. The Moon-Forming Impact and the Autotrophic Origin of Life. Chempluschem 2023; 88:e202300270. [PMID: 37812146 PMCID: PMC7615287 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202300270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
The Moon-forming impact vaporized part of Earth's mantle, and turned the rest into a magma ocean, from which carbon dioxide degassed into the atmosphere, where it stayed until water rained out to form the oceans. The rain dissolved CO2 and made it available to react with transition metal catalysts in the Earth's crust so as to ultimately generate the organic compounds that form the backbone of microbial metabolism. The Moon-forming impact was key in building a planet with the capacity to generate life in that it converted carbon on Earth into a homogeneous and accessible substrate for organic synthesis. Today all ecosystems, without exception, depend upon primary producers, organisms that fix CO2 . According to theories of autotrophic origin, it has always been that way, because autotrophic theories posit that the first forms of life generated all the molecules needed to build a cell from CO2 , forging a direct line of continuity between Earth's initial CO2 -rich atmosphere and the first microorganisms. By modern accounts these were chemolithoautotrophic archaea and bacteria that initially colonized the crust and still inhabit that environment today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Mrnjavac
- Department of Biology Institute for Molecular Evolution Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
| | - Jessica L. E. Wimmer
- Department of Biology Institute for Molecular Evolution Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
| | - Max Brabender
- Department of Biology Institute for Molecular Evolution Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
| | - Loraine Schwander
- Department of Biology Institute for Molecular Evolution Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
| | - William F. Martin
- Department of Biology Institute for Molecular Evolution Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf Universitaetsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
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3
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Russell MJ. A self-sustaining serpentinization mega-engine feeds the fougerite nanoengines implicated in the emergence of guided metabolism. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1145915. [PMID: 37275164 PMCID: PMC10236563 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1145915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The demonstration by Ivan Barnes et al. that the serpentinization of fresh Alpine-type ultramafic rocks results in the exhalation of hot alkaline fluids is foundational to the submarine alkaline vent theory (AVT) for life's emergence to its 'improbable' thermodynamic state. In AVT, such alkaline fluids ≤ 150°C, bearing H2 > CH4 > HS--generated and driven convectively by a serpentinizing exothermic mega-engine operating in the ultramafic crust-exhale into the iron-rich, CO2> > > NO3--bearing Hadean ocean to result in hydrothermal precipitate mounds comprising macromolecular ferroferric-carbonate oxyhydroxide and minor sulfide. As the nanocrystalline minerals fougerite/green rust and mackinawite (FeS), they compose the spontaneously precipitated inorganic membranes that keep the highly contrasting solutions apart, thereby maintaining redox and pH disequilibria. They do so in the form of fine chimneys and chemical gardens. The same disequilibria drive the reduction of CO2 to HCOO- or CO, and the oxidation of CH4 to a methyl group-the two products reacting to form acetate in a sequence antedating the 'energy-producing' acetyl coenzyme-A pathway. Fougerite is a 2D-layered mineral in which the hydrous interlayers themselves harbor 2D solutions, in effect constricted to ~ 1D by preferentially directed electron hopping/tunneling, and proton Gröthuss 'bucket-brigading' when subject to charge. As a redox-driven nanoengine or peristaltic pump, fougerite forces the ordered reduction of nitrate to ammonium, the amination of pyruvate and oxalate to alanine and glycine, and their condensation to short peptides. In turn, these peptides have the flexibility to sequester the founding inorganic iron oxyhydroxide, sulfide, and pyrophosphate clusters, to produce metal- and phosphate-dosed organic films and cells. As the feed to the hydrothermal mound fails, the only equivalent sustenance on offer to the first autotrophs is the still mildly serpentinizing upper crust beneath. While the conditions here are very much less bountiful, they do offer the similar feed and disequilibria the survivors are accustomed to. Sometime during this transition, a replicating non-ribosomal guidance system is discovered to provide the rules to take on the incrementally changing surroundings. The details of how these replicating apparatuses emerged are the hard problem, but by doing so the progenote archaea and bacteria could begin to colonize what would become the deep biosphere. Indeed, that the anaerobic nitrate-respiring methanotrophic archaea and the deep-branching Acetothermia presently comprise a portion of that microbiome occupying serpentinizing rocks offers circumstantial support for this notion. However, the inescapable, if jarring conclusion is drawn that, absent fougerite/green rust, there would be no structured channelway to life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Russell
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
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4
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Screening for Hyperthermophilic Electrotrophs for the Microbial Electrosynthesis of Organic Compounds. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10112249. [DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10112249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial electrosynthesis has recently emerged as a promising technology for the sustainable production of organic acids, bioplastics, or biofuels from electricity and CO2. However, the diversity of catalysts and metabolic pathways is limited to mainly mesophilic acetogens or methanogens. Here, eleven hyperthermophilic strains related to Archaeoglobales, Thermococcales, Aquificales, and methanogens were screened for microbial electrosynthesis. The strains were previously isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where a naturally occurring, spontaneous electrical current can serve as a source of energy for microbial metabolism. After 6 days of incubation in an electrochemical system, all strains showed current consumption, biofilm formation, and small organic molecule production relative to the control. Six selected strains were then incubated over a longer period of time. In the course of one month, a variety of metabolic intermediates of biotechnological relevance such as succinic acid and glycerol accumulated. The production rates and the promotion of specific metabolic pathways seemed to be influenced by the experimental conditions, such as the concentration of CO2 in the gas phase and electron acceptor limitation. Further work is necessary to clearly identify these effects to potentially be able to tune the microbial electrosynthesis of compounds of interest.
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5
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Zahorán R, Kumar P, Juhász Á, Horváth D, Tóth Á. Flow-driven synthesis of calcium phosphate-calcium alginate hybrid chemical gardens. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:8157-8164. [PMID: 36263702 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01063a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Systems far-from-equilibrium self-assemble into spatiotemporal structures. Here, we report on the formation of calcium alginate gardens along with their inorganic hybrids when a sodium alginate solution containing sodium phosphate in various compositions is injected into a calcium chloride reservoir. The viscoelastic properties of the membranes developed are controlled by the injection rate, while their thickness by the amount of sodium phosphate besides diffusion. Inorganic hybrid membranes with constant thickness are synthesized in the presence of a sufficient amount of sodium phosphate. The electrochemical characterization of the membranes suggests that the driving force is the pH-gradient developing along the two sides; hence, the cell potential can be controlled by the addition of alkaline sodium phosphate into the sodium alginate solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Réka Zahorán
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary.
| | - Pawan Kumar
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary.
| | - Ádám Juhász
- MTA-SZTE Lendület "Momentum" Noble Metal Nanostructures Research Group, Interdisciplinary Excellence Center, Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged, H-6720, Hungary
| | - Dezső Horváth
- Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary
| | - Ágota Tóth
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary.
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Chin K, Pasalic J, Hermis N, Barge LM. Chemical Gardens as Electrochemical Systems: In Situ Characterization of Simulated Prebiotic Hydrothermal Vents by Impedance Spectroscopy. Chempluschem 2021; 85:2619-2628. [PMID: 33270995 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202000600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
In an early earth or planetary chimney systems, hydrothermal fluid chemistry and flow durations play a large role in the chimney's ability to drive electrochemical reactions for the origin of life. We performed continuous electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characterization on inorganic membranes representing prebiotic hydrothermal chimney vents in natural seafloor systems, by incorporating an electrode array into a chimney growth experiment. Localized potential and capacitances profiles in the chimney reveal a dynamic system where redox processes are driven by transport phenomena, increasing rapidly due to disequilibrium until achieving equilibrium at about 100 mV and 1000 μF/cm2 . The impedance in the chimney interior is three orders of magnitude lower (100 Ohms/cm2 vs 100 KOhms/cm2 ) than at the ocean or the ocean/chimney interface. The calculated peak dissipation factor (DF) values are more than ten times higher (40.0 vs 3.0) and also confirm the elevated chemical reactivity in the chimney interior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Chin
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
| | - Jasmina Pasalic
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
| | - Ninos Hermis
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
| | - Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
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Cafferty BJ, Yuan L, Baghbanzadeh M, Rappoport D, Beyzavi MH, Whitesides GM. Charge Transport through Self‐Assembled Monolayers of Monoterpenoids. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201902997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian J. Cafferty
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Li Yuan
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Mostafa Baghbanzadeh
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - Dmitrij Rappoport
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
| | - M. Hassan Beyzavi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
- Current address: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Arkansas Fayetteville AR 72701 USA
| | - George M. Whitesides
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
- Kalvi Institute for Bionano Science and Technology Harvard University 29 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Harvard University 60 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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8
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Cafferty BJ, Yuan L, Baghbanzadeh M, Rappoport D, Beyzavi MH, Whitesides GM. Charge Transport through Self-Assembled Monolayers of Monoterpenoids. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019; 58:8097-8102. [PMID: 30989746 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201902997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The nature of the processes at the origin of life that selected specific classes of molecules for broad incorporation into cells is controversial. Among those classes selected were polyisoprenoids and their derivatives. This paper tests the hypothesis that polyisoprenoids were early contributors to membranes in part because they (or their derivatives) could facilitate charge transport by quantum tunneling. It measures charge transport across self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of carboxyl-terminated monoterpenoids (O2 C(C9 HX)) and alkanoates (O2 C(C7 HX)) with different degrees of unsaturation, supported on silver (AgTS ) bottom electrodes, with Ga2 O3 /EGaIn top electrodes. Measurements of current density of SAMs of linear length-matched hydrocarbons-both saturated and unsaturated-show that completely unsaturated molecules transport charge faster than those that are completely saturated by approximately a factor of ten. This increase in relative rates of charge transport correlates with the number of carbon-carbon double bonds, but not with the extent of conjugation. These results suggest that polyisoprenoids-even fully unsaturated-are not sufficiently good tunneling conductors for their conductivity to have favored them as building blocks in the prebiotic world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Cafferty
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Li Yuan
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Mostafa Baghbanzadeh
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Dmitrij Rappoport
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - M Hassan Beyzavi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Current address: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - George M Whitesides
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Kalvi Institute for Bionano Science and Technology, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 60 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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Ooka H, McGlynn SE, Nakamura R. Electrochemistry at Deep‐Sea Hydrothermal Vents: Utilization of the Thermodynamic Driving Force towards the Autotrophic Origin of Life. ChemElectroChem 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.201801432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hideshi Ooka
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research TeamRIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) 2-1, Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
| | - Shawn E. McGlynn
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research TeamRIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) 2-1, Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)Tokyo Institute of Technology 2-12-1-1E-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku Tokyo 152-8550 Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Seattle, WA USA
| | - Ryuhei Nakamura
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research TeamRIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) 2-1, Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI)Tokyo Institute of Technology 2-12-1-1E-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku Tokyo 152-8550 Japan
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10
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Yamamoto M, Nakamura R, Takai K. Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Fields as Natural Power Plants. ChemElectroChem 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.201800394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Yamamoto
- Department of Subsurface Geobiology Analysis and Research (D-SUGAR); Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Yokosuka 273-0061 Japan
| | - Ryuhei Nakamura
- Biofunctional Catalyst Research Team; RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science; 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako Saitama 351-0198 Japan
- Earth-Life Science Institute; Tokyo Institute of Technology; 2-12-1-IE-1, Ookayama, Meguro-ku Tokyo 152-8550 Japan
| | - Ken Takai
- Department of Subsurface Geobiology Analysis and Research (D-SUGAR); Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Yokosuka 273-0061 Japan
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