No ‘nanofossils’ in martian meteorite

Application of atomic force microscopy on observing the ultra-fine structure of the neoproterozoic microfossils from China

Phosphatic microfossils from the Doushantuo Formation, Guizhou, China, have been reported with preserved cellular structure or even sub-cellular structure in micron scale. However, more details in sub-micro scale have not been reported as having been found. The Fossil embryos from the acid residue of the phosphorite rocks of the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation in south China have been studied with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). Some ultra-structures in sub-micro scale have been found by AFM on the surface of the fossil embryos. There are four types of structures found on the surface of the selected fossil embryos, the sizes of which vary from 30 to 645 nm in diameter under our AFM. One of the structures is composed of several big sub-units integrated with each other, and the size of the big sub-units is from 250 to 645 nm. Meanwhile, we also found an ultra-layer structure on the surface of the big sub-units, the thickness of which was about 10 nm. Thus we speculate that it could most probably be of biological origin. Therefore, AFM provides a new method for direct observation of the ultra-structure of the Doushantuo fossils in the sub-micro scale.

Nanobacteria-like calcite single crystals at the surface of the Tataouine meteorite

Nanobacteria-like objects evidenced at the surface of the orthopyroxenes of the Tataouine meteorite in South Tunisia have been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. A method of micromanipulation has been developed to ensure that exactly the same objects were studied by both methods. We have shown that the nanobacteria-like objects are spatially correlated with filaments of microorganisms that colonized the surface of the meteoritic pyroxene during its 70 years of residence in the aridic Tataouine soil. Depressions of a few micrometers in depth are observed in the pyroxene below the carbonates, indicating preferential dissolution of the pyroxene and calcite precipitation at these locations. The nanobacteria-like small rods that constitute calcium carbonate rosettes are well crystallized calcite single crystals surrounded by a thin amorphous layer of carbonate composition that smoothes the crystal edges and induces rounded shapes. Those morphologies are unusual for calcite single crystals observed in natural samples. A survey of recent literature suggests that the intervention of organic compounds derived from biological activity is likely in their formation.

The simulated silicification of bacteria--new clues to the modes and timing of bacterial preservation and implications for the search for extraterrestrial microfossils

Evidence of microbial life on Earth has been found in siliceous rock formations throughout the geological and fossil record. To understand the mechanisms of silicification and thus improve our search patterns for evidence of fossil microbial life in rocks, a series of controlled laboratory experiments were designed to simulate the silicification of microorganisms. The bacterial strains Pseudomonas fluorescens and Desulphovibrio indonensis were exposed to silicifying media. The experiments were designed to determine how exposure time to silicifying solutions and to silicifying solutions of different Si concentration affect the fossilization of microbial biofilms. The silicified biofilms were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Both bacterial species showed evidence of silicification after 24 h in 1,000 ppm silica solution, although D. indonensis was less prone to silicification. The degree of silicification of individual cells of the same sample varied, though such variations decreased with increasing exposure time. High Si concentration resulted in better preservation of cellular detail; the Si concentration was more important than the duration in Si solution. Even though no evidence of amorphous silica precipitation was observed, bacterial cells became permineralized. High-resolution TEM analysis revealed nanometer-sized crystallites characterized by lattice fringe-spacings that match the (10-11) d-spacing of quartz formed within bacterial cell walls after 1 week in 5,000 ppm silica solution. The mechanisms of silicification under controlled laboratory conditions and the implication for silicification in natural environments are discussed, along with the relevance of our findings in the search for early life on Earth and extraterrestrial life.

Magnetite biomineralization and ancient life on Mars

Certain chemical and mineral features of the Martian meteorite ALH84001 were reported in 1996 to be probable evidence of ancient life on Mars. In spite of new observations and interpretations, the question of ancient life on Mars remains unresolved. Putative biogenic, nanometer magnetite has now become a leading focus in the debate.

Bacteria in the Tatahouine meteorite: nanometric-scale life in rocks

We present a study of the textural signature of terrestrial weathering and related biological activity in the Tatahouine meteorite. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images obtained on the weathered samples of the Tatahouine meteorite and surrounding soil show two types of bacteria-like forms lying on mineral surfaces: (1) rod-shaped forms (RSF) about 70-80 nm wide and ranging from 100 nm to 600 nm in length; (2) ovoid forms (OVF) with diameters between 70 and 300 nm. They look like single cells surrounded by a cell wall. Only Na, K, C, O and N with traces of P and S are observed in the bulk of these objects. The chemical analyses and electron diffraction patterns confirm that the RSF and OVF cannot be magnetite or other iron oxides, iron hydroxides, silicates or carbonates. The sizes of the RSF and OVF are below those commonly observed for bacteria but are very similar to some bacteria-like forms described in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. All the previous observations strongly suggest that they are bacteria or their remnants. This conclusion is further supported by microbiological experiments in which pleomorphic bacteria with morphology similar to the OVF and RSF objects are obtained from biological culture of the soil surrounding the meteorite pieces. The present results show that bacteriomorphs of diameter less than 100 nm may in fact represent real bacteria or their remnants.

Origin of carbonate-magnetite-sulfide assemblages in Martian meteorite ALH84001

A review of the mineralogical, isotopic, and chemical properties of the carbonates and associated submicrometer iron oxides and sulfides in Martian meteorite ALH84001 provides minimal evidence for microbial activity. Some magnetites resemble those formed by magnetotactic microorganisms but cubic crystals <50 nm in size and elongated grains <25 nm long are too small to be single-domain magnets and are probably abiogenic. Magnetites with shapes that are clearly unique to magnetotactic bacteria appear to be absent in ALH84001. Magnetosomes have not been reported in plutonic rocks and are unlikely to have been transported in fluids through fractures and uniformly deposited where abiogenic magnetite was forming epitaxially on carbonate. Submicrometer sulfides and magnetites probably formed during shock heating. Carbonates have correlated variations in Ca, Mg, and 18O/16O, magnetite-rich rims, and they appear to be embedded in pyroxene and plagiociase glass. Carbonates with these features have not been identified in carbonaceous chondrites and terrestrial rocks, suggesting that the ALH84001 carbonates have a unique origin. Carbonates and hydrated minerals in ALH84001, like secondary phases in other Martian meteorites, have O and H isotopic ratios favoring formation from fluids that exchanged with the Martian atmosphere. I propose that carbonates originally formed in ALH84001 from aqueous fluids and were subsequently shock heated and vaporized. The original carbonates were probably dolomite-magnesite-siderite assemblages that formed in pores at interstitial sites with minor sulfate, chloride, and phyllosilicates. These phases, like many other volatile-rich phases in Martian meteorites, may have formed as evaporate deposits from intermittent floods.

The history of Allan Hills 84001 revised: multiple shock events

The geologic history of Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 is more complex than previously recognized, with evidence for four or five crater-forming impacts onto Mars. This history of repeated deformation and shock metamorphism appears to weaken some arguments that have been offered for and against the hypothesis of ancient Martian life in ALH 84001. Allan Hills 84001 formed originally from basaltic magma. Its first impact event (I1) is inferred from the deformation (D1) that produced the granular-textured bands ("crush zones") that transect the original igneous fabric. Deformation D1 is characterized by intense shear and may represent excavation or rebound flow of rock beneath a large impact crater. An intense thermal metamorphism followed D1 and may be related to it. The next impact (I2) produced fractures, (Fr2) in which carbonate "pancakes" were deposited and produced feldspathic glass from some of the igneous feldspars and silica. After I2, carbonate pancakes and globules were deposited in Fr2 fractures and replaced feldspathic glass and possibly crystalline silicates. Next, feldspars, feldspathic glass, and possibly some carbonates were mobilized and melted in the third impact (I3). Microfaulting, intense fracturing, and shear are also associated with I3. In the fourth impact (I4), the rock was fractured and deformed without significant heating, which permitted remnant magnetization directions to vary across fracture surfaces. Finally, ALH 84001 was ejected from Mars in event I5, which could be identical to I4. This history of multiple impacts is consistent with the photogeology of the Martian highlands and may help resolve some apparent contradictions among recent results on ALH 84001. For example, the submicron rounded magnetite grains in the carbonate globules could be contemporaneous with carbonate deposition, whereas the elongate magnetite grains, epitaxial on carbonates, could be ascribed to vapor-phase deposition during I3.