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Potiszil C, Yamanaka M, Sakaguchi C, Ota T, Kitagawa H, Kunihiro T, Tanaka R, Kobayashi K, Nakamura E. Organic Matter in the Asteroid Ryugu: What We Know So Far. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1448. [PMID: 37511823 PMCID: PMC10381145 DOI: 10.3390/life13071448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hayabusa2 mission was tasked with returning samples from the C-complex asteroid Ryugu (1999 JU3), in order to shed light on the formation, evolution and composition of such asteroids. One of the main science objectives was to understand whether such bodies could have supplied the organic matter required for the origin of life on Earth. Here, a review of the studies concerning the organic matter within the Ryugu samples is presented. This review will inform the reader about the Hayabusa2 mission, the nature of the organic matter analyzed and the various interpretations concerning the analytical findings including those concerning the origin and evolution of organic matter from Ryugu. Finally, the review puts the findings and individual interpretations in the context of the current theories surrounding the formation and evolution of Ryugu. Overall, the summary provided here will help to inform those operating in a wide range of interdisciplinary fields, including planetary science, astrobiology, the origin of life and astronomy, about the most recent developments concerning the organic matter in the Ryugu return samples and their relevance to understanding our solar system and beyond. The review also outlines the issues that still remain to be solved and highlights potential areas for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Potiszil
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yamanaka
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Chie Sakaguchi
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Ota
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kitagawa
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Tak Kunihiro
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Ryoji Tanaka
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Katsura Kobayashi
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
| | - Eizo Nakamura
- The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan
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Organic carbon concentrations in 3.5-billion-year-old lacustrine mudstones of Mars. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2201139119. [PMID: 35759667 PMCID: PMC9271195 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201139119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This work presents the first quantification of bulk organic carbon in Mars surface sedimentary rocks, enabled by a stepped combustion experiment performed by the Curiosity Rover in Gale crater, Mars. The mudstone sample analyzed by Curiosity represents a previously habitable lacustrine environment and a depositional environment favorable for preservation of organics formed in situ and/or transported from a wide catchment area. Here we present the abundance of bulk organic carbon in these mudstone samples and discuss the contributions from various carbon reservoirs on Mars. The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument stepped combustion experiment on a Yellowknife Bay mudstone at Gale crater, Mars revealed the presence of organic carbon of Martian and meteoritic origins. The combustion experiment was designed to access refractory organic carbon in Mars surface sediments by heating samples in the presence of oxygen to combust carbon to CO2. Four steps were performed, two at low temperatures (less than ∼550 °C) and two at high temperatures (up to ∼870 °C). More than 950 μg C/g was released at low temperatures (with an isotopic composition of δ13C = +1.5 ± 3.8‰) representing a minimum of 431 μg C/g indigenous organic and inorganic Martian carbon components. Above 550 °C, 273 ± 30 μg C/g was evolved as CO2 and CO (with estimated δ13C = −32.9‰ to −10.1‰ for organic carbon). The source of high temperature organic carbon cannot be definitively confirmed by isotopic composition, which is consistent with macromolecular organic carbon of igneous origin, meteoritic infall, or diagenetically altered biomass, or a combination of these. If from allochthonous deposition, organic carbon could have supported both prebiotic organic chemistry and heterotrophic metabolism at Gale crater, Mars, at ∼3.5 Ga.
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Ferrance JP. Solid phase extraction on reverse phase chromatographic media subjected to stresses expected for extraterrestrial implementation. Analyst 2022; 147:3514-3524. [DOI: 10.1039/d2an00768a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Reverse phase solid phase extraction matrices were tested using standard analytes then exposed to space flight stresses to ensure functionality when deployed for liquid sample analysis on remote bodies.
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Nano-FTIR spectroscopic identification of prebiotic carbonyl compounds in Dominion Range 08006 carbonaceous chondrite. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11656. [PMID: 34079034 PMCID: PMC8172632 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91200-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Meteorites contain organic matter that may have contributed to the origin of life on Earth. Carbonyl compounds such as aldehydes and carboxylic acids, which occur in meteorites, may be precursors of biologically necessary organic materials in the solar system. Therefore, such organic matter is of astrobiological importance and their detection and characterization can contribute to the understanding of the early solar system as well as the origin of life. Most organic matter is typically sub-micrometer in size, and organic nanoglobules are even smaller (50–300 nm). Novel analytical techniques with nanoscale spatial resolution are required to detect and characterize organic matter within extraterrestrial materials. Most techniques require powdered samples, consume the material, and lose petrographic context of organics. Here, we report the detection of nanoglobular aldehyde and carboxylic acids in a highly primitive carbonaceous chondrite (DOM 08006) with ~ 20 nm spatial resolution using nano-FTIR spectroscopy. Such organic matter is found within the matrix of DOM 08006 and is typically 50–300 nm in size. We also show petrographic context and nanoscale morphologic/topographic features of the organic matter. Our results indicate that prebiotic carbonyl nanoglobules can form in a less aqueous and relatively elevated temperature-environment (220–230 °C) in a carbonaceous parent body.
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Furukawa Y, Chikaraishi Y, Ohkouchi N, Ogawa NO, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP, Abe C, Nakamura T. Extraterrestrial ribose and other sugars in primitive meteorites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:24440-24445. [PMID: 31740594 PMCID: PMC6900709 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907169116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Sugars are essential molecules for all terrestrial biota working in many biological processes. Ribose is particularly essential as a building block of RNA, which could have both stored information and catalyzed reactions in primitive life on Earth. Meteorites contain a number of organic compounds including key building blocks of life, i.e., amino acids, nucleobases, and phosphate. An amino acid has also been identified in a cometary sample. However, the presence of extraterrestrial bioimportant sugars remains unclear. We analyzed sugars in 3 carbonaceous chondrites and show evidence of extraterrestrial ribose and other bioessential sugars in primitive meteorites. The 13C-enriched stable carbon isotope compositions (δ13C vs.VPDB) of the detected sugars show that the sugars are of extraterrestrial origin. We also conducted a laboratory simulation experiment of a potential sugar formation reaction in space. The compositions of pentoses in meteorites and the composition of the products of the laboratory simulation suggest that meteoritic sugars were formed by formose-like processes. The mineral compositions of these meteorites further suggest the formation of these sugars both before and after the accretion of their parent asteroids. Meteorites were carriers of prebiotic organic molecules to the early Earth; thus, the detection of extraterrestrial sugars in meteorites establishes the existence of natural geological routes to make and preserve them as well as raising the possibility that extraterrestrial sugars contributed to forming functional biopolymers like RNA on the early Earth or other primitive worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, 060-0819 Sapporo, Japan
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Nanako O Ogawa
- Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 237-0061 Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
| | - Chiaki Abe
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
| | - Tomoki Nakamura
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 980-8578 Sendai, Japan
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Glavin DP, Burton AS, Elsila JE, Aponte JC, Dworkin JP. The Search for Chiral Asymmetry as a Potential Biosignature in our Solar System. Chem Rev 2019; 120:4660-4689. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P. Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, United States
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - José C. Aponte
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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Simkus DN, Aponte JC, Elsila JE, Parker ET, Glavin DP, Dworkin JP. Methodologies for Analyzing Soluble Organic Compounds in Extraterrestrial Samples: Amino Acids, Amines, Monocarboxylic Acids, Aldehydes, and Ketones. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:E47. [PMID: 31174308 PMCID: PMC6617175 DOI: 10.3390/life9020047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 05/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Soluble organic compositions of extraterrestrial samples offer valuable insights into the prebiotic organic chemistry of the solar system. This review provides a summary of the techniques commonly used for analyzing amino acids, amines, monocarboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones in extraterrestrial samples. Here, we discuss possible effects of various experimental factors (e.g., extraction protocols, derivatization methods, and chromatographic techniques) in order to highlight potential influences on the results obtained from different methodologies. This detailed summary and assessment of current techniques is intended to serve as a basic guide for selecting methodologies for soluble organic analyses and to emphasize some key considerations for future method development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle N Simkus
- NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - José C Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, USA.
| | - Jamie E Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Eric T Parker
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Daniel P Glavin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | - Jason P Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
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Aponte JC, Whitaker D, Powner MW, Elsila JE, Dworkin JP. Analyses of Aliphatic Aldehydes and Ketones in Carbonaceous Chondrites. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2019; 3:463-472. [PMID: 32617450 PMCID: PMC7330996 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Aliphatic aldehydes and ketones are essential building blocks for the synthesis of more complex organic compounds. Despite their potentially key role as precursors of astrobiologically important molecules, such as amino acids and carboxylic acids, this family of compounds has scarcely been evaluated in carbonaceous chondrites. The paucity of such analyses likely derives from the low concentration of aldehydes and ketones in the meteorites and from the currently used chromatographic methodologies that have not been optimized for meteorite analysis. In this work, we report the development of a novel analytical method to quantify the molecular distribution and compound-specific isotopic analysis of 29 aliphatic aldehydes and ketones. Using this method, we have investigated the molecular distribution and 13C-isotopic composition of aldehydes and ketones in 10 carbonaceous chondrites from the CI, CM, CR, and CV groups. The total concentration of carbonyl compounds ranged from 130 to 1000 nmol g-1 of meteorite with formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone being the most abundant species in all investigated samples. The 13C-isotopic values ranged from -67 to +64‰ and we did not observe clear relationships between 13C-content and molecular weight. Accurately measuring the relative abundances, determining the molecular distribution, and isotopic composition of chondritic organic compounds is central in assessing both their formation chemistry and synthetic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- José C. Aponte
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, United States
| | - Daniel Whitaker
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew W. Powner
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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