1
|
Buckner DK, Anderson MJ, Wisnosky S, Alvarado W, Nuevo M, Williams AJ, Ricco AJ, Anamika, Debic S, Friend L, Hoac T, Jahnke L, Radosevich L, Williams R, Wilhelm MB. Quantifying Global Origin-Diagnostic Features and Patterns in Biotic and Abiotic Acyclic Lipids for Life Detection. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:1-35. [PMID: 38150549 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Lipids are a geologically robust class of organics ubiquitous to life as we know it. Lipid-like soluble organics are synthesized abiotically and have been identified in carbonaceous meteorites and on Mars. Ascertaining the origin of lipids on Mars would be a profound astrobiological achievement. We enumerate origin-diagnostic features and patterns in two acyclic lipid classes, fatty acids (i.e., carboxylic acids) and acyclic hydrocarbons, by collecting and analyzing molecular data reported in over 1500 samples from previously published studies of terrestrial and meteoritic organics. We identify 27 combined (15 for fatty acids, 12 for acyclic hydrocarbons) molecular patterns and structural features that can aid in distinguishing biotic from abiotic synthesis. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrates that multivariate analyses of molecular features (16 for fatty acids, 14 for acyclic hydrocarbons) can potentially indicate sample origin. Terrestrial lipids are dominated by longer straight-chain molecules (C4-C34 fatty acids, C14-C46 acyclic hydrocarbons), with predominance for specific branched and unsaturated isomers. Lipid-like meteoritic soluble organics are shorter, with random configurations. Organic solvent-extraction techniques are most commonly reported, motivating the design of our novel instrument, the Extractor for Chemical Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers in Regolith (ExCALiBR), which extracts lipids while preserving origin-diagnostic features that can indicate biogenicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Denise K Buckner
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Morgan J Anderson
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- Axient Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
| | - Sydney Wisnosky
- Axient Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Walter Alvarado
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Michel Nuevo
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Amy J Williams
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Antonio J Ricco
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- Electrical Engineering-Integrated Circuits Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Anamika
- Department of Space Studies, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
| | - Sara Debic
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Trinh Hoac
- Axient Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
| | - Linda Jahnke
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Ross Williams
- Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Mary Beth Wilhelm
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
He Y, Buch A, Szopa C, Millan M, Freissinet C, Navarro-Gonzalez R, Guzman M, Johnson S, Glavin D, Williams A, Eigenbrode J, Teinturier S, Malespin C, Coscia D, Bonnet JY, Lu P, Cabane M, Mahaffy P. Influence of Calcium Perchlorate on the Search for Martian Organic Compounds with MTBSTFA/DMF Derivatization. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:1137-1156. [PMID: 34534003 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), mixed with the solvent N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), is used as a derivatizing reagent by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment onboard NASA's Curiosity rover and will soon be utilized by the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer experiment onboard the ESA/Roscosmos Rosalind Franklin rover. The pyrolysis products of MTBSTFA, DMF, and the MTBSTFA/DMF mixtures, obtained at different temperatures, were analyzed. Two different pyrolysis modes were studied, flash pyrolysis and ramp pyrolysis (35°C/min), to evaluate the potential influence of the sample heating speed on the production of products in space chromatographs. The effect of the presence of calcium perchlorate on the pyrolysis products of MTBSTFA/DMF was also studied to ascertain the potential effect of perchlorate species known to be present at the martian surface. The results show that MTBSTFA/DMF derivatization should be applied below 300°C when using flash pyrolysis, as numerous products of MTBSTFA/DMF were formed at high pyrolysis temperatures. However, when an SAM-like ramp pyrolysis was applied, the final pyrolysis temperature did not appear to influence the degradation products of MTBSTFA/DMF. All products of MTBSTFA/DMF pyrolysis are listed in this article, providing a major database of products for the analysis of martian analog samples, meteorites, and the in situ analysis of martian rocks and soils. In addition, the presence of calcium perchlorate does not show any obvious effects on the pyrolysis of MTBSTFA/DMF: Only chloromethane and TBDMS-Cl (chloro-tertbutyldimethylsilane) were detected, whereas chlorobenzene and other chlorine-bearing compounds were not detected. However, other chlorine-bearing compounds were detected after pyrolysis of the Murchison meteorite in the presence of calcium perchlorate. This result reinforces previous suggestions that chloride-bearing compounds could be reaction products of martian samples and perchlorate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan He
- Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, CentraleSupélec, University Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Arnaud Buch
- Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, CentraleSupélec, University Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Cyril Szopa
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Maëva Millan
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Caroline Freissinet
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez
- Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Melissa Guzman
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Sarah Johnson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Danny Glavin
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Amy Williams
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Jennifer Eigenbrode
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Samuel Teinturier
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Charles Malespin
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - David Coscia
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Jean-Yves Bonnet
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Telespazio France, Toulouse, France
| | - Pin Lu
- LGPM, CentraleSupélec, SFR Condorcet FR CNRS 3417, Université Paris-Saclay, Centre Européen de Biotechnologie et de Bioéconomie (CEBB), Pomacle, France
| | - Michel Cabane
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Paul Mahaffy
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Postberg F, Khawaja N, Abel B, Choblet G, Glein CR, Gudipati MS, Henderson BL, Hsu HW, Kempf S, Klenner F, Moragas-Klostermeyer G, Magee B, Nölle L, Perry M, Reviol R, Schmidt J, Srama R, Stolz F, Tobie G, Trieloff M, Waite JH. Macromolecular organic compounds from the depths of Enceladus. Nature 2018; 558:564-568. [PMID: 29950623 PMCID: PMC6027964 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Saturn's moon Enceladus harbours a global water ocean 1 , which lies under an ice crust and above a rocky core 2 . Through warm cracks in the crust 3 a cryo-volcanic plume ejects ice grains and vapour into space4-7 that contain materials originating from the ocean8,9. Hydrothermal activity is suspected to occur deep inside the porous core10-12, powered by tidal dissipation 13 . So far, only simple organic compounds with molecular masses mostly below 50 atomic mass units have been observed in plume material6,14,15. Here we report observations of emitted ice grains containing concentrated and complex macromolecular organic material with molecular masses above 200 atomic mass units. The data constrain the macromolecular structure of organics detected in the ice grains and suggest the presence of a thin organic-rich film on top of the oceanic water table, where organic nucleation cores generated by the bursting of bubbles allow the probing of Enceladus' organic inventory in enhanced concentrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Postberg
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Klaus-Tschira-Labor für Kosmochemie, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Nozair Khawaja
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Bernd Abel
- Leibniz-Institute für Oberflächenmodifizierung (IOM), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gael Choblet
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR-CNRS 6112, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Christopher R Glein
- Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Murthy S Gudipati
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Bryana L Henderson
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Hsiang-Wen Hsu
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Sascha Kempf
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Fabian Klenner
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Brian Magee
- Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Lenz Nölle
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mark Perry
- Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - René Reviol
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Schmidt
- Astronomy Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Ralf Srama
- Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ferdinand Stolz
- Leibniz-Institute für Oberflächenmodifizierung (IOM), Leipzig, Germany
- Wilhelm-Ostwald-Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gabriel Tobie
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR-CNRS 6112, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Mario Trieloff
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Klaus-Tschira-Labor für Kosmochemie, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - J Hunter Waite
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR-CNRS 6112, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Magna T, Žák K, Pack A, Moynier F, Mougel B, Peters S, Skála R, Jonášová Š, Mizera J, Řanda Z. Zhamanshin astrobleme provides evidence for carbonaceous chondrite and post-impact exchange between ejecta and Earth's atmosphere. Nat Commun 2017; 8:227. [PMID: 28794408 PMCID: PMC5550458 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00192-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemical fingerprints of impacts are usually compromised by extreme conditions in the impact plume, and the contribution of projectile matter to impactites does not often exceed a fraction of per cent. Here we use chromium and oxygen isotopes to identify the impactor and impact-plume processes for Zhamanshin astrobleme, Kazakhstan. ε54Cr values up to 1.54 in irghizites, part of the fallback ejecta, represent the 54Cr-rich extremity of the Solar System range and suggest a CI-like chondrite impactor. Δ17O values as low as -0.22‰ in irghizites, however, are incompatible with a CI-like impactor. We suggest that the observed 17O depletion in irghizites relative to the terrestrial range is caused by partial isotope exchange with atmospheric oxygen (Δ17O = -0.47‰) following material ejection. In contrast, combined Δ17O-ε54Cr data for central European tektites (distal ejecta) fall into the terrestrial range and neither impactor fingerprint nor oxygen isotope exchange with the atmosphere are indicated.Identifying the original impactor from craters remains challenging. Here, the authors use chromium and oxygen isotopes to indicate that the Zhamanshin astrobleme impactor was a carbonaceous chrondrite by demonstrating that depleted 17O values are due to exchange with atmospheric oxygen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Magna
- Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, Prague 1, CZ-118 21, Czech Republic.
| | - Karel Žák
- Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, Prague 6, CZ-165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Andreas Pack
- Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum, Abteilung Isotopengeologie, Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 1, Göttingen, D-37077, Germany
| | - Frédéric Moynier
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Diderot, 1 rue Jussieu, Paris, F-75005, France
- Insitut Universitaire de France, Paris, F-75005, France
| | - Bérengère Mougel
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Diderot, 1 rue Jussieu, Paris, F-75005, France
| | - Stefan Peters
- Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum, Abteilung Isotopengeologie, Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 1, Göttingen, D-37077, Germany
| | - Roman Skála
- Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, Prague 6, CZ-165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Jonášová
- Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, Prague 6, CZ-165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Mizera
- Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Husinec-Řež, CZ-250 68, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Řanda
- Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Husinec-Řež, CZ-250 68, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|