1
|
Wu X, Zhu J, He H, Konhauser KO, Li Y. Comments on "was hydrogen peroxide present before the arrival of oxygenic photosynthesis? The important role of iron(II) in the archean ocean". Redox Biol 2024; 71:103111. [PMID: 38521703 PMCID: PMC11313173 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2024.103111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent research has hypothesized that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) may have emerged from abiotic geochemical processes during the Archean eon (4.0-2.5 Ga), stimulating the evolution of an enzymatic antioxidant system in early life. This eventually led to the evolution of cyanobacteria, and in turn, the accumulation of oxygen on Earth. In the latest issue of Redox Biology, Koppenol and Sies (vol. 29, no. 103012, 2024) argued against this hypothesis and suggested instead that early organisms would not have been exposed to H2O2 due to its short half-life in the ferruginous oceans of the Archean. We find these arguments to be factually incomplete because they do not consider that freshwater or some coastal marine environments during the Archean could indeed have led to H2O2 generation and accumulation. In these environments, abiotic oxidants could have interacted with early life, thus steering its evolutionary course.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Jianxi Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
| | - Hongping He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou, 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kurt O Konhauser
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Yiliang Li
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sheng Y, Baars O, Guo D, Whitham J, Srivastava S, Dong H. Mineral-Bound Trace Metals as Cofactors for Anaerobic Biological Nitrogen Fixation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:7206-7216. [PMID: 37116091 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogenase is the only known biological enzyme capable of reducing N2 to bioavailable NH3. Most nitrogenases use Mo as a metallocofactor, while alternative cofactors V and Fe are also viable. Both geological and bioinformatic evidence suggest an ancient origin of Mo-based nitrogenase in the Archean, despite the low concentration of dissolved Mo in the Archean oceans. This apparent paradox would be resolvable if mineral-bound Mo were bioavailable for nitrogen fixation by ancient diazotrophs. In this study, the bioavailability of mineral-bound Mo, V, and Fe was determined by incubating an obligately anaerobic diazotroph Clostridium kluyveri with Mo-, V-, and Fe-bearing minerals (molybdenite, cavansite, and ferrihydrite, respectively) and basalt under diazotrophic conditions. The results showed that C. kluyveri utilized mineral-associated metals to express nitrogenase genes and fix nitrogen, as measured by the reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and acetylene reduction assay, respectively. C. kluyveri secreted chelating molecules to extract metals from the minerals. As a result of microbial weathering, mineral surface chemistry significantly changed, likely due to surface coating by microbial exudates for metal extraction. These results provide important support for the ancient origin of Mo-based nitrogenase, with profound implications for coevolution of the biosphere and geosphere.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yizhi Sheng
- Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, United States
- Center for Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Research, State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Oliver Baars
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Dongyi Guo
- Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, United States
| | - Jason Whitham
- Department of Plant and Molecular Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Shreya Srivastava
- Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, United States
| | - Hailiang Dong
- Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hao J, Liu W, Goff JL, Steadman JA, Large RR, Falkowski PG, Yee N. Anoxic photochemical weathering of pyrite on Archean continents. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn2226. [PMID: 35767603 PMCID: PMC9242442 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn2226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Sulfur is an essential element of life that is assimilated by Earth's biosphere through the chemical breakdown of pyrite. On the early Earth, pyrite weathering by atmospheric oxygen was severely limited, and low marine sulfate concentrations persisted for much of the Archean eon. Here, we show an anoxic photochemical mechanism of pyrite weathering that could have provided substantial amounts of sulfate to the oceans as continents formed in the late Archean. Pyrite grains suspended in anoxic ferrous iron solutions produced millimolar sulfate concentrations when irradiated with ultraviolet light. The Fe2+(aq) was photooxidized, which, in turn, led to the chemical oxidation of pyritic sulfur. Additional experiments conducted with 2.68 Ga shale demonstrated that photochemically derived ferric iron oxidizes and dissolves sedimentary pyrite during chemical weathering. The results suggest that before the rise of atmospheric oxygen, oxidative pyrite weathering on Archean continents was controlled by the exposure of land to sunlight.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jihua Hao
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Winnie Liu
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jennifer L. Goff
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Steadman
- CODES, Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
| | - Ross R. Large
- CODES, Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
| | - Paul G. Falkowski
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Nathan Yee
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Berlanga M, Palau M, Guerrero R. Community homeostasis of coastal microbial mats from the Camargue during winter (cold) and summer (hot) seasons. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Berlanga
- Department of Biology, Environment and Health, Section Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Montserrat Palau
- Department of Biology, Environment and Health, Section Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| | - Ricardo Guerrero
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Antimicrobials, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine University of Barcelona Barcelona Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O 2 and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2105074118. [PMID: 34911756 PMCID: PMC8713798 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105074118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Reconstructing the history of biological productivity and atmospheric oxygen partial pressure (pO2) is a fundamental goal of geobiology. Recently, the mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes (O-MIF) has been used as a tool for estimating pO2 and productivity during the Proterozoic. O-MIF, reported as Δ'17O, is produced during the formation of ozone and destroyed by isotopic exchange with water by biological and chemical processes. Atmospheric O-MIF can be preserved in the geologic record when pyrite (FeS2) is oxidized during weathering, and the sulfur is redeposited as sulfate. Here, sedimentary sulfates from the ∼1.4-Ga Sibley Formation are reanalyzed using a detailed one-dimensional photochemical model that includes physical constraints on air-sea gas exchange. Previous analyses of these data concluded that pO2 at that time was <1% PAL (times the present atmospheric level). Our model shows that the upper limit on pO2 is essentially unconstrained by these data. Indeed, pO2 levels below 0.8% PAL are possible only if atmospheric methane was more abundant than today (so that pCO2 could have been lower) or if the Sibley O-MIF data were diluted by reprocessing before the sulfates were deposited. Our model also shows that, contrary to previous assertions, marine productivity cannot be reliably constrained by the O-MIF data because the exchange of molecular oxygen (O2) between the atmosphere and surface ocean is controlled more by air-sea gas transfer rates than by biological productivity. Improved estimates of pCO2 and/or improved proxies for Δ'17O of atmospheric O2 would allow tighter constraints to be placed on mid-Proterozoic pO2.
Collapse
|
6
|
Mitchell RL, Strullu-Derrien C, Sykes D, Pressel S, Duckett JG, Kenrick P. Cryptogamic ground covers as analogues for early terrestrial biospheres: Initiation and evolution of biologically mediated proto-soils. GEOBIOLOGY 2021; 19:292-306. [PMID: 33569915 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Modern cryptogamic ground covers (CGCs), comprising assemblages of bryophytes (hornworts, liverworts, mosses), fungi, bacteria, lichens and algae, are thought to resemble early divergent terrestrial communities. However, limited in situ plant and other fossils in the rock record, and a lack of CGC-like soils reported in the pre-Silurian sedimentological record, have hindered understanding of the structure, composition and interactions within the earliest CGCs. A key question is how the earliest CGC-like organisms drove weathering on primordial terrestrial surfaces (regolith), leading to the early stages of soil development as proto-soils, and subsequently contributing to large-scale biogeochemical shifts in the Earth System. Here, we employed a novel qualitative, quantitative and multi-dimensional imaging approach through X-ray micro-computed tomography, scanning electron, and optical microscopy to investigate whether different combinations of modern CGC organisms from primordial-like settings in Iceland develop organism-specific soil forming features at the macro- and micro-scales. Additionally, we analysed CGCs growing on hard rocky substrates to investigate the initiation of weathering processes non-destructively in 3D. We show that thalloid CGC organisms (liverworts, hornworts) develop thin organic layers at the surface (<1 cm) with limited subsurface structural development, whereas leafy mosses and communities of mixed organisms form profiles that are thicker (up to ~ 7 cm), structurally more complex, and more organic-rich. We term these thin layers and profiles proto-soils. Component analyses from X-ray micro-computed tomography data show that thickness and structure of these proto-soils are determined by the type of colonising organism(s), suggesting that the evolution of more complex soils through the Palaeozoic may have been driven by a shift in body plan of CGC-like organisms from flattened and appressed to upright and leafy. Our results provide a framework for identifying CGC-like proto-soils in the rock record and a new proxy for understanding organism-soil interactions in ancient terrestrial biospheres and their contribution to the early stages of soil formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ria L Mitchell
- Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Sheffield Tomography Centre (STC), Kroto Research Institute, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Christine Strullu-Derrien
- Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR7205, Muséum National d'Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Dan Sykes
- Imaging and Analysis Centre (IAC), The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility, School of Materials, The Royce Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Silvia Pressel
- Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | | | - Paul Kenrick
- Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Broz AP. Organic Matter Preservation in Ancient Soils of Earth and Mars. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:E113. [PMID: 32708606 PMCID: PMC7400377 DOI: 10.3390/life10070113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The emerging field of astropedology is the study of ancient soils on Earth and other planetary bodies. Examination of the complex factors that control the preservation of organic matter and other biosignatures in ancient soils is a high priority for current and future missions to Mars. Though previously defined by biological activity, an updated definition of soil as planetary surfaces altered in place by biological, chemical or physical processes was adopted in 2017 by the Soil Science Society of America in response to mounting evidence of pedogenic-like features on Mars. Ancient (4.1-3.7 billion year old [Byr]) phyllosilicate-rich surface environments on Mars show evidence of sustained subaerial weathering of sediments with liquid water at circumneutral pH, which is a soil-forming process. The accumulation of buried, fossilized soils, or paleosols, has been widely observed on Earth, and recent investigations suggest paleosol-like features may be widespread across the surface of Mars. However, the complex array of preservation and degradation factors controlling the fate of biosignatures in paleosols remains unexplored. This paper identifies the dominant factors contributing to the preservation and degradation of organic carbon in paleosols through the geological record on Earth, and offers suggestions for prioritizing locations for in situ biosignature detection and Mars Sample Return across a diverse array of potential paleosols and paleoenvironments of early Mars. A compilation of previously published data and original research spanning a diverse suite of paleosols from the Pleistocene (1 Myr) to the Archean (3.7 Byr) show that redox state is the predominant control for the organic matter content of paleosols. Most notably, the chemically reduced surface horizons (layers) of Archean (2.3 Byr) paleosols have organic matter concentrations ranging from 0.014-0.25%. However, clay mineralogy, amorphous phase abundance, diagenetic alteration and sulfur content are all significant factors that influence the preservation of organic carbon. The surface layers of paleosols that formed under chemically reducing conditions with high amounts of iron/magnesium smectites and amorphous colloids should be considered high priority locations for biosignature investigation within subaerial paleoenvironments on Mars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian P Broz
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97405, USA
| |
Collapse
|