1
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Rezaeerod K, Heinzmann H, Torrence AV, Patel J, Forsythe JG. Qualitative Monitoring of Proto-Peptide Condensation by Differential FTIR Spectroscopy. ACS Earth Space Chem 2024; 8:937-944. [PMID: 38774359 PMCID: PMC11103710 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Condensation processes such as wet-dry cycling are thought to have played significant roles in the emergence of proto-peptides. Here, we describe a simple and low-cost method, differential Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, for qualitative analysis of peptide condensation products in model primordial reactions. We optimize differential FTIR for depsipeptides and apply this method to investigate their polymerization in the presence of extraterrestrial dust simulants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keon Rezaeerod
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Hanna Heinzmann
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
- Analytical
and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Aalen University, 73430 Aalen, Germany
| | - Alexis V. Torrence
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Jui Patel
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
| | - Jay G. Forsythe
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina 29424, United States
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2
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Wehbi S, Wheeler A, Morel B, Minh BQ, Lauretta DS, Masel J. Order of amino acid recruitment into the genetic code resolved by Last Universal Common Ancestor's protein domains. bioRxiv 2024:2024.04.13.589375. [PMID: 38659899 PMCID: PMC11042313 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.13.589375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The current "consensus" order in which amino acids were added to the genetic code is based on potentially biased criteria such as absence of sulfur-containing amino acids from the Urey-Miller experiment in which no sulfur was added. Here, we reassess this order by exploiting the fact that proteins that emerged prior to the genetic code's completion are likely enriched in early amino acids and depleted in late amino acids. We identify the most ancient protein-coding sequences born prior to the archaeal-bacterial split. Amino acid usage in protein sequences whose ancestors date back to a single homolog in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) largely matches the consensus order. However, our findings indicate that metal-binding (cysteine and histidine) and sulfur-containing (cysteine and methionine) amino acids were added to the genetic code much earlier than previously thought. Surprisingly, even more ancient protein sequences - those that had already diversified into multiple distinct copies in LUCA - show a different pattern to single copy LUCA sequences: significantly less depleted in the late amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine, and enriched rather than depleted in phenylalanine. This is compatible with at least some of these sequences predating the current genetic code. Their distinct enrichment patterns thus provide hints about earlier, alternative genetic codes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sawsan Wehbi
- Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA
| | - Andrew Wheeler
- Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA
| | - Benoit Morel
- Computational Molecular Evolution Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Bui Quang Minh
- School of Computing, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Dante S Lauretta
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Joanna Masel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
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3
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Tirumalai MR. Education and public outreach: communicating science through storytelling. J Microbiol Biol Educ 2024; 25:e0020923. [PMID: 38661406 PMCID: PMC11044642 DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00209-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Education and public outreach activities can be challenging for most active scientists, for very good reasons. Allotment of time to participate in outreach activities could be a major challenge. However, when such activities are incorporated into one's academic and research plan, they can be enriching. Here, the author describes his experience in what began as on one-off participation at an outreach event, leading to a series of speaking events addressing the public at the monthly meetings of several astronomy clubs/societies, observatories, etc. in the states of Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Colorado. They have often involved the use of motifs and characters from popular science fiction, literature, and movies and when possible, getting the audience actively involved in the presentations. Furthermore, the discussions following each presentation have been enriching in terms of getting a broad perspective of the perceptions that people in general have, regarding the origins of life, microbiology, extremophiles, and astrobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhan R. Tirumalai
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
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4
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Gómez F, Rodríguez N, Rodríguez-Manfredi JA, Escudero C, Carrasco-Ropero I, Martínez JM, Ferrari M, De Angelis S, Frigeri A, Fernández-Sampedro M, Amils R. Association of Acidotolerant Cyanobacteria to Microbial Mats below pH 1 in Acidic Mineral Precipitates in Río Tinto River in Spain. Microorganisms 2024; 12:829. [PMID: 38674771 PMCID: PMC11052175 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12040829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
This report describes acidic microbial mats containing cyanobacteria that are strongly associated to precipitated minerals in the source area of Río Tinto. Río Tinto (Huelva, Southwestern Spain) is an extreme acidic environment where iron and sulfur cycles play a fundamental role in sustaining the extremely low pH and the high concentration of heavy metals, while maintaining a high level of microbial diversity. These multi-layered mineral deposits are stable all year round and are characterized by a succession of thick greenish-blue and brownish layers mainly composed of natrojarosite. The temperature and absorbance above and below the mineral precipitates were followed and stable conditions were detected inside the mineral precipitates. Different methodologies, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, immunological detection, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and metagenomic analysis were used to describe the biodiversity existing in these microbial mats, demonstrating, for the first time, the existence of acid-tolerant cyanobacteria in a hyperacidic environment of below pH 1. Up to 0.46% of the classified sequences belong to cyanobacterial microorganisms, and 1.47% of the aligned DNA reads belong to the Cyanobacteria clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
| | - Nuria Rodríguez
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Cristina Escudero
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - José M. Martínez
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marco Ferrari
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (INAF), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Simone De Angelis
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (INAF), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Frigeri
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (INAF), via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Maite Fernández-Sampedro
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Amils
- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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5
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Stern RJ, Gerya TV. The importance of continents, oceans and plate tectonics for the evolution of complex life: implications for finding extraterrestrial civilizations. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8552. [PMID: 38609425 PMCID: PMC11015018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54700-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Within the uncertainties of involved astronomical and biological parameters, the Drake Equation typically predicts that there should be many exoplanets in our galaxy hosting active, communicative civilizations (ACCs). These optimistic calculations are however not supported by evidence, which is often referred to as the Fermi Paradox. Here, we elaborate on this long-standing enigma by showing the importance of planetary tectonic style for biological evolution. We summarize growing evidence that a prolonged transition from Mesoproterozoic active single lid tectonics (1.6 to 1.0 Ga) to modern plate tectonics occurred in the Neoproterozoic Era (1.0 to 0.541 Ga), which dramatically accelerated emergence and evolution of complex species. We further suggest that both continents and oceans are required for ACCs because early evolution of simple life must happen in water but late evolution of advanced life capable of creating technology must happen on land. We resolve the Fermi Paradox (1) by adding two additional terms to the Drake Equation: foc (the fraction of habitable exoplanets with significant continents and oceans) and fpt (the fraction of habitable exoplanets with significant continents and oceans that have had plate tectonics operating for at least 0.5 Ga); and (2) by demonstrating that the product of foc and fpt is very small (< 0.00003-0.002). We propose that the lack of evidence for ACCs reflects the scarcity of long-lived plate tectonics and/or continents and oceans on exoplanets with primitive life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Stern
- Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Science, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75083-0688, USA
| | - Taras V Gerya
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH-Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
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6
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Iglesias-Groth S, Cataldo F, Marin-Dobrincic M. Infrared Spectroscopy of RNA Nucleosides in a Wide Range of Temperatures. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:436. [PMID: 38672708 PMCID: PMC11051033 DOI: 10.3390/life14040436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The RNA world hypothesis suggests that early cellular ancestors relied solely on RNA molecules for both genetic information storage and cellular functions. RNA, composed of four nucleosides-adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, and uridine-forms the basis of this theory. These nucleosides consist of purine nucleobases, adenine and guanine, and pyrimidine nucleobases, cytosine and uracil, bonded to ribose sugar. Notably, carbonaceous chondrite meteorites have revealed the presence of these bases and sugar, hinting at the potential existence of nucleosides in space. This study aims to present the infrared spectra of four RNA nucleosides commonly found in terrestrial biochemistry, facilitating their detection in space, especially in astrobiological and astrochemical contexts. Laboratory measurements involved obtaining mid- and far-IR spectra at three temperatures (-180 °C, room temperature, and +180 °C), followed by calculating molar extinction coefficients (ε) and integrated molar absorptivities (ψ) for corresponding bands. These spectral data, along with ε and ψ values, serve to provide quantitative insights into the presence and relative abundance of nucleosides in space and aid in their detection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Franco Cataldo
- Actinium Chemical Research Institute, Via Casilina 1626A, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Martina Marin-Dobrincic
- Applied Physics and Naval Technology Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, C/Doctor Fleming, s/n., 30202 Cartagena, Spain;
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7
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Nixon CA. The Composition and Chemistry of Titan's Atmosphere. ACS Earth Space Chem 2024; 8:406-456. [PMID: 38533193 PMCID: PMC10961852 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
In this review I summarize the current state of knowledge about the composition of Titan's atmosphere and our current understanding of the suggested chemistry that leads to that observed composition. I begin with our present knowledge of the atmospheric composition, garnered from a variety of measurements including Cassini-Huygens, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and other ground- and space-based telescopes. This review focuses on the typical vertical profiles of gases at low latitudes rather than global and temporal variations. The main body of the review presents a chemical description of how complex molecules are believed to arise from simpler species, considering all known "stable" molecules-those that have been uniquely identified in the neutral atmosphere. The last section of the review is devoted to the gaps in our present knowledge of Titan's chemical composition and how further work may fill those gaps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conor A. Nixon
- Planetary Systems Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United
States
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8
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Bramble MS, Hand KP. Spectral evidence for irradiated halite on Mars. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5503. [PMID: 38448458 PMCID: PMC10917766 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55979-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The proposed chloride salt-bearing deposits on Mars have an enigmatic composition due to the absence of distinct spectral absorptions for the unique mineral at all wavelengths investigated. We report on analyses of remote visible-wavelength spectroscopic observations that exhibit properties indicative of the mineral halite (NaCl) when irradiated. Visible spectra of halite are generally featureless, but when irradiated by high-energy particles they develop readily-identifiable spectral alterations in the form of color centers. Consistent spectral characteristics observed in the reflectance data of the chloride salt-bearing deposits support the presence of radiation-formed color centers of halite on the surface of Mars. We observe a seasonal cycle of color center formation with higher irradiated halite values during winter months, with the colder temperatures interpreted as increasing the formation efficiency and stability. Irradiated halite identified on the surface of Mars suggests that the visible surface is being irradiated to the degree that defects are forming in alkali halide crystal structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Bramble
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA.
| | - Kevin P Hand
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
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9
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Shapshak P, Zandi M, Somboonwit C, T. Sinnott J. Astrovirology and terrestrial life survival. Bioinformation 2024; 20:146-150. [PMID: 38497066 PMCID: PMC10941782 DOI: 10.6026/973206300200146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Microbial organisms have been implicated in several mass extinction events throughout Earth's planetary history. Concurrently, it can be reasoned from recent viral pandemics that viruses likely exacerbated the decline of life during these periods of mass extinction. The fields of exovirology and exobiology have evolved significantly since the 20th century, with early investigations into the varied atmospheric compositions of exoplanets revealing complex interactions between metallic and non-metallic elements. This diversity in exoplanetary and stellar environments suggests that life could manifest in forms previously unanticipated by earlier, more simplistic models of the 20th century. Non-linear theories of complexity, catastrophe, and chaos (CCC) will be important in understanding the dynamics and evolution of viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Shapshak
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
| | - Milad Zandi
- Hepatitis Research Center, Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, IRAN
| | - Charurut Somboonwit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
| | - John T. Sinnott
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
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10
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Waajen AC, Lima C, Goodacre R, Cockell CS. Life on Earth can grow on extraterrestrial organic carbon. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3691. [PMID: 38355968 PMCID: PMC10866878 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54195-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The universe is a vast store of organic abiotic carbon that could potentially drive heterotrophy on habitable planets. Meteorites are one of the transporters of this carbon to planetary surfaces. Meteoritic material was accumulating on early Earth when life emerged and proliferated. Yet it is not known if this organic carbon from space was accessible to life. In this research, an anaerobic microbial community was grown with the CM2 carbonaceous chondrite Aguas Zarcas as the sole carbon, energy and nutrient source. Using a reversed 13C-stable isotope labelling experiment in combination with optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy of single cells, this paper demonstrates the direct transfer of carbon from meteorite into microbial biomass. This implies that meteoritic organics could have been used as a carbon source on early Earth and other habitable planets, and supports the potential for a heterotrophic metabolism in early living systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cassio Lima
- Centre for Metabolomics Research, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Royston Goodacre
- Centre for Metabolomics Research, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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11
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Fais G, Casula M, Sidorowicz A, Manca A, Margarita V, Fiori PL, Pantaleo A, Caboni P, Cao G, Concas A. Cultivation of Chroococcidiopsis thermalis Using Available In Situ Resources to Sustain Life on Mars. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:251. [PMID: 38398760 PMCID: PMC10889959 DOI: 10.3390/life14020251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The cultivation of cyanobacteria by exploiting available in situ resources represents a possible way to supply food and oxygen to astronauts during long-term crewed missions on Mars. Here, we evaluated the possibility of cultivating the extremophile cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis thermalis CCALA 050 under operating conditions that should occur within a dome hosting a recently patented process to produce nutrients and oxygen on Mars. The medium adopted to cultivate this cyanobacterium, named Martian medium, was obtained using a mixture of regolith leachate and astronauts' urine simulants that would be available in situ resources whose exploitation could reduce the mission payload. The results demonstrated that C. thermalis can grow in such a medium. For producing high biomass, the best medium consisted of specific percentages (40%vol) of Martian medium and a standard medium (60%vol). Biomass produced in such a medium exhibits excellent antioxidant properties and contains significant amounts of pigments. Lipidomic analysis demonstrated that biomass contains strategic lipid classes able to help the astronauts facing the oxidative stress and inflammatory phenomena taking place on Mars. These characteristics suggest that this strain could serve as a valuable nutritional resource for astronauts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Fais
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (G.F.); (M.C.); (A.S.); (G.C.)
- Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Mattia Casula
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (G.F.); (M.C.); (A.S.); (G.C.)
- Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Agnieszka Sidorowicz
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (G.F.); (M.C.); (A.S.); (G.C.)
- Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Alessia Manca
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro, 07100 Sassari, Italy; (A.M.); (V.M.); (P.L.F.); (A.P.)
| | - Valentina Margarita
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro, 07100 Sassari, Italy; (A.M.); (V.M.); (P.L.F.); (A.P.)
| | - Pier Luigi Fiori
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro, 07100 Sassari, Italy; (A.M.); (V.M.); (P.L.F.); (A.P.)
| | - Antonella Pantaleo
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro, 07100 Sassari, Italy; (A.M.); (V.M.); (P.L.F.); (A.P.)
| | - Pierluigi Caboni
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy;
| | - Giacomo Cao
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (G.F.); (M.C.); (A.S.); (G.C.)
- Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia (CRS4), Loc. Piscina Manna, Building 1, 09050 Pula, Italy
| | - Alessandro Concas
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (G.F.); (M.C.); (A.S.); (G.C.)
- Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
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12
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Malas J, Russo DC, Bollengier O, Malaska MJ, Lopes RMC, Kenig F, Meyer-Dombard DR. Biological functions at high pressure: transcriptome response of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 to hydrostatic pressure relevant to Titan and other icy ocean worlds. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1293928. [PMID: 38414766 PMCID: PMC10896736 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1293928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is a key driver of life's evolution and diversification on Earth. Icy moons such as Titan, Europa, and Enceladus harbor potentially habitable high-pressure environments within their subsurface oceans. Titan, in particular, is modeled to have subsurface ocean pressures ≥ 150 MPa, which are above the highest pressures known to support life on Earth in natural ecosystems. Piezophiles are organisms that grow optimally at pressures higher than atmospheric (0.1 MPa) pressure and have specialized adaptations to the physical constraints of high-pressure environments - up to ~110 MPa at Challenger Deep, the highest pressure deep-sea habitat explored. While non-piezophilic microorganisms have been shown to survive short exposures at Titan relevant pressures, the mechanisms of their survival under such conditions remain largely unelucidated. To better understand these mechanisms, we have conducted a study of gene expression for Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 using a high-pressure experimental culturing system. MR-1 was subjected to short-term (15 min) and long-term (2 h) HHP of 158 MPa, a value consistent with pressures expected near the top of Titan's subsurface ocean. We show that MR-1 is metabolically active in situ at HHP and is capable of viable growth following 2 h exposure to 158 MPa, with minimal pressure training beforehand. We further find that MR-1 regulates 264 genes in response to short-term HHP, the majority of which are upregulated. Adaptations include upregulation of the genes argA, argB, argC, and argF involved in arginine biosynthesis and regulation of genes involved in membrane reconfiguration. MR-1 also utilizes stress response adaptations common to other environmental extremes such as genes encoding for the cold-shock protein CspG and antioxidant defense related genes. This study suggests Titan's ocean pressures may not limit life, as microorganisms could employ adaptations akin to those demonstrated by terrestrial organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy Malas
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Daniel C. Russo
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Olivier Bollengier
- Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Le Mans Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, LPG UMR 6112, Nantes, France
| | - Michael J. Malaska
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Rosaly M. C. Lopes
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Fabien Kenig
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - D'Arcy R. Meyer-Dombard
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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13
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Koyama S, Kamada A, Furukawa Y, Terada N, Nakamura Y, Yoshida T, Kuroda T, Vandaele AC. Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio-important molecules. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2397. [PMID: 38336798 PMCID: PMC10858170 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52718-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a critical precursor for the abiotic formation of biomolecules, including amino acids and sugars, which are the building blocks of proteins and RNA. Geomorphological and geochemical evidence on Mars indicates a temperate environment compatible with the existence of surface liquid water during its early history at 3.8-3.6 billion years ago (Ga), which was maintained by the warming effect of reducing gases, such as H2. However, it remains uncertain whether such a temperate and weakly reducing surface environment on early Mars was suitable for producing H2CO. In this study, we investigated the atmospheric production of H2CO on early Mars using a 1-D photochemical model assuming a thick CO2-dominated atmosphere with H2 and CO. Our results show that a continuous supply of atmospheric H2CO can be used to form various organic compounds, including amino acids and sugars. This could be a possible origin for the organic matter observed on the Martian surface. Given the previously reported conversion rate from H2CO into ribose, the calculated H2CO deposition flux suggests a continuous supply of bio-important sugars on early Mars, particularly during the Noachian and early Hesperian periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shungo Koyama
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Arihiro Kamada
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Naoki Terada
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yuki Nakamura
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Yoshida
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Takeshi Kuroda
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
- Division for the Establishment of Frontier Sciences of Organization for Advanced Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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14
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Shapshak P, Zandi M, Somboonwit C, Sinnott JT. Neutrinos to Astrovirology: Signatures. Bioinformation 2024; 20:18-19. [PMID: 38352902 PMCID: PMC10859944 DOI: 10.6026/973206300200018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In the 20th century, the concept of terrestrial life's unity was solidified, and the 21st century saw the emergence and establishment of astrovirology. To date, life originating beyond Earth has not been identified. The singular instance where NASA investigated potential microfossils in Martian ejecta found on Earth has since been refuted. This report suggests that a more comprehensive discussion and analysis of life's biosignatures and communication methods are essential. Such approaches are crucial not only to avoid overlooking the possible existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI) but also to prevent potential human infections that could arise from extra-terrestrial contact. In addition terrestrial infections by microorganism that originally derived from Earth and were returned, require investigation due to potential mutations and subsequent increased pathogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Shapshak
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
| | - Milad Zandi
- Hepatitis Research Center, Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
| | - Charurut Somboonwit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
| | - John T Sinnott
- Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA
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15
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Antunes A, de la Haba RR, Jebbar M, Hedlund BP. Editorial: Community series-extremophiles: microbial genomics and taxogenomics, volume II. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1371210. [PMID: 38357351 PMCID: PMC10864652 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1371210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- André Antunes
- State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
- Macau Center for Space Exploration and Science, China National Space Administration (CNSA), Taipa, Macau SAR, China
- China-Portugal Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Space and Sea Technology Advanced Research, Virtual Lab
| | - Rafael R. de la Haba
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Mohamed Jebbar
- Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, EMR 6002 BIOMEX, Unité Biologie et Écologie des Écosystèmes Marins Profonds BEEP, Plouzané, France
| | - Brian P. Hedlund
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States
- Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States
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16
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Vollmer C, Kepaptsoglou D, Leitner J, Mosberg AB, El Hajraoui K, King AJ, Bays CL, Schofield PF, Araki T, Ramasse QM. High-spatial resolution functional chemistry of nitrogen compounds in the observed UK meteorite fall Winchcombe. Nat Commun 2024; 15:778. [PMID: 38278803 PMCID: PMC10817942 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45064-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Organic matter in extraterrestrial samples is a complex material that might have played an important role in the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth. We report here on the identification of nitrogen-containing compounds such as amino acids and N-heterocycles within the recent observed meteorite fall Winchcombe by high-spatial resolution spectroscopy techniques. Although nitrogen contents of Winchcombe organic matter are low (N/C ~ 1-3%), we were able to detect the presence of these compounds using a low-noise direct electron detector. These biologically relevant molecules have therefore been tentatively found within a fresh, minimally processed meteorite sample by high spatial resolution techniques conserving the overall petrographic context. Carbon functional chemistry investigations show that sizes of aromatic domains are small and that abundances of carboxylic functional groups are low. Our observations demonstrate that Winchcombe represents an important addition to the collection of carbonaceous chondrites and still preserves pristine extraterrestrial organic matter.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Demie Kepaptsoglou
- SuperSTEM Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, UK
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, Heslington, UK
| | - Jan Leitner
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Particle Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Khalil El Hajraoui
- SuperSTEM Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, UK
- School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, Heslington, UK
| | - Ashley J King
- Planetary Materials Group, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Charlotte L Bays
- Planetary Materials Group, Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
| | | | - Tohru Araki
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Institute for Molecular Science, UVSOR Synchrotron Facility, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Quentin M Ramasse
- SuperSTEM Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, UK
- School of Chemical and Process Engineering and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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17
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Sheng Q, Intoy BF, Halley JW. Effects of Activation Barriers on Quenching to Stabilize Prebiotic Chemical Systems. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:116. [PMID: 38255731 DOI: 10.3390/life14010116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
We have previously shown in model studies that rapid quenches of systems of monomers interacting to form polymer chains can fix nonequilibrium chemistries with some lifelike properties. We suggested that such quenching processes might have occurred at very high rates on early Earth, giving an efficient mechanism for natural sorting through enormous numbers of nonequilibrium chemistries from which the most lifelike ones could be naturally selected. However, the model used for these studies did not take account of activation barriers to polymer scission (peptide bond hydrolysis in the case of proteins). Such barriers are known to exist and are expected to enhance the quenching effect. Here, we introduce a modified model which takes activation barriers into account and we compare the results to data from experiments on quenched systems of amino acids. We find that the model results turn out to be sensitive to the width of the distribution of barrier heights but quite insensitive to its average value. The results of the new model are in significantly better agreement with the experiments than those found using our previous model. The new parametrization of the model only requires one new parameter and the parametrization is more physical than the previous one, providing a chemical interpretation of the parameter p in our previous models. Within the model, a characteristic temperature Tc emerges such that if the temperature of the hot stage is above Tc and the temperature of the cold stage is below it, then the 'freezing out', in a quench, of a disequilibrium ensemble of long polymers is expected. We discuss the possible relevance of this to models of the origin of life in emissions from deep ocean rifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianyi Sheng
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ben Fredrick Intoy
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - J W Halley
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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18
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Hirakawa Y, Kakegawa T, Furukawa Y. Hexose phosphorylation for a non-enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway on early Earth. Sci Rep 2024; 14:264. [PMID: 38168787 PMCID: PMC10762079 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50743-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways play essential roles in cellular processes and are assumed to be among the most ancient metabolic pathways. Non-enzymatic metabolism-like reactions might have occurred on the prebiotic Earth and been inherited by the biological reactions. Previous research has identified a part of the non-enzymatic glycolysis and the non-enzymatic pentose phosphate pathway from glucose 6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate, which are intermediates of these reactions. However, how these phosphorylated molecules were formed on the prebiotic Earth remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of glucose and gluconate from simple aldehydes in alkaline solutions and the formation of glucose 6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate with borate using thermal evaporation. These results imply that the initial stages of glycolysis-like and pentose phosphate pathway-like reactions were achieved in borate-rich evaporative environments on prebiotic Earth, suggesting that non-enzymatic metabolism provided biomolecules and their precursors on prebiotic Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Hirakawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Takeshi Kakegawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Department of Earth Science, Tohoku University, 6-3, Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
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19
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Ray AE, Tribbia DZ, Cowan DA, Ferrari BC. Clearing the air: unraveling past and guiding future research in atmospheric chemosynthesis. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2023; 87:e0004823. [PMID: 37914532 PMCID: PMC10732025 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00048-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY Atmospheric chemosynthesis is a recently proposed form of chemoautotrophic microbial primary production. The proposed process relies on the oxidation of trace concentrations of hydrogen (≤530 ppbv), carbon monoxide (≤90 ppbv), and methane (≤1,870 ppbv) gases using high-affinity enzymes. Atmospheric hydrogen and carbon monoxide oxidation have been primarily linked to microbial growth in desert surface soils scarce in liquid water and organic nutrients, and low in photosynthetic communities. It is well established that the oxidation of trace hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases widely supports the persistence of microbial communities in a diminished metabolic state, with the former potentially providing a reliable source of metabolic water. Microbial atmospheric methane oxidation also occurs in oligotrophic desert soils and is widespread throughout copiotrophic environments, with established links to microbial growth. Despite these findings, the direct link between trace gas oxidation and carbon fixation remains disputable. Here, we review the supporting evidence, outlining major gaps in our understanding of this phenomenon, and propose approaches to validate atmospheric chemosynthesis as a primary production process. We also explore the implications of this minimalistic survival strategy in terms of nutrient cycling, climate change, aerobiology, and astrobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelique E. Ray
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Dana Z. Tribbia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Don A. Cowan
- Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Belinda C. Ferrari
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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20
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Hart R, Cardace D. Mineral Indicators of Geologically Recent Past Habitability on Mars. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:2349. [PMID: 38137950 PMCID: PMC10744562 DOI: 10.3390/life13122349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We provide new support for habitable microenvironments in the near-subsurface of Mars, hosted in Fe- and Mg-rich rock units, and present a list of minerals that can serve as indicators of specific water-rock reactions in recent geologic paleohabitats for follow-on study. We modeled, using a thermodynamic basis without selective phase suppression, the reactions of published Martian meteorites and Jezero Crater igneous rock compositions and reasonable planetary waters (saline, alkaline waters) using Geochemist's Workbench Ver. 12.0. Solid-phase inputs were meteorite compositions for ALH 77005, Nakhla, and Chassigny, and two rock units from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover sites, Máaz and Séítah. Six plausible Martian groundwater types [NaClO4, Mg(ClO4)2, Ca(ClO4)2, Mg-Na2(ClO4)2, Ca-Na2(ClO4)2, Mg-Ca(ClO4)2] and a unique Mars soil-water analog solution (dilute saline solution) named "Rosy Red", related to the Phoenix Lander mission, were the aqueous-phase inputs. Geophysical conditions were tuned to near-subsurface Mars (100 °C or 373.15 K, associated with residual heat from a magmatic system, impact event, or a concentration of radionuclides, and 101.3 kPa, similar to <10 m depth). Mineral products were dominated by phyllosilicates such as serpentine-group minerals in most reaction paths, but differed in some important indicator minerals. Modeled products varied in physicochemical properties (pH, Eh, conductivity), major ion activities, and related gas fugacities, with different ecological implications. The microbial habitability of pore spaces in subsurface groundwater percolation systems was interrogated at equilibrium in a thermodynamic framework, based on Gibbs Free Energy Minimization. Models run with the Chassigny meteorite produced the overall highest H2 fugacity. Models reliant on the Rosy Red soil-water analog produced the highest sustained CH4 fugacity (maximum values observed for reactant ALH 77005). In general, Chassigny meteorite protoliths produced the best yield regarding Gibbs Free Energy, from an astrobiological perspective. Occurrences of serpentine and saponite across models are key: these minerals have been observed using CRISM spectral data, and their formation via serpentinization would be consistent with geologically recent-past H2 and CH4 production and sustained energy sources for microbial life. We list index minerals to be used as diagnostic for paleo water-rock models that could have supported geologically recent-past microbial activity, and suggest their application as criteria for future astrobiology study-site selections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Hart
- Department of Physics and Engineering, Community College of Rhode Island, Lincoln, RI 02865, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA;
| | - Dawn Cardace
- Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA;
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21
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Burke SE, Auvil ZA, Hanold KA, Continetti RE. Detection of intact amino acids with a hypervelocity ice grain impact mass spectrometer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2313447120. [PMID: 38048472 PMCID: PMC10723046 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313447120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Astrobiology studies are a top priority in answering one of the most fundamental questions in planetary science: Is there life beyond Earth? Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in our solar system, identified by NASA as the second-highest priority site for a flagship mission in the next decade. The orbital sampling technique of impact ionization mass spectrometry indicated the presence of complex organics in the small icy plume particles ejected by Enceladus encountered previously by Cassini. However, high interaction velocities caused ambiguity as to the origin and identity of the organics. Laboratory validation of this technique is needed to show that biosignature molecules can survive an impact at hypervelocity speeds for detection. Here, we present results on the hypervelocity impact of organic-laden submicron ice grains for in situ mass spectrometric characterization with the first technique to accurately replicate this plume sampling scenario: the Hypervelocity Ice Grain Impact Mass Spectrometer. Our results show good agreement with Cassini data at comparable compositions. We show that amino acids entrained in ice grains can be detected intact after impact at speeds up to 4.2 km/s and that salt reduces their detectability, validating the predictions from other model systems. Our results provide a benchmark for this orbital sampling method to successfully detect signs of life and for the interpretation of past and future data. This work has implications not only for a potential Enceladus mission but also for the forthcoming Europa Clipper mission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally E. Burke
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093-0340
| | - Zachary A. Auvil
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093-0340
| | - Karl A. Hanold
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093-0340
| | - Robert E. Continetti
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093-0340
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22
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Smith HB, Mathis C. Life detection in a universe of false positives: Can the Fatal Flaws of Exoplanet Biosignatures be Overcome Absent a Theory of Life? Bioessays 2023; 45:e2300050. [PMID: 37821360 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Astrobiology aims to determine the distribution and diversity of life in the universe. But as the word "biosignature" suggests, what will be detected is not life itself, but an observation implicating living systems. Our limited access to other worlds suggests this observation is more likely to reflect out-of-equilibrium gasses than a writhing octopus. Yet, anything short of a writhing octopus will raise skepticism about what has been detected. Resolving that skepticism requires a theory to delineate processes due to life and those due to abiotic mechanisms. This poses an existential question for life detection: How do astrobiologists plan to detect life on exoplanets via features shared between non-living and living systems? We argue that you cannot without an underlying theory of life. We illustrate this by analyzing the hypothetical detection of an "Earth 2.0" exoplanet. Without a theory of life, we argue the community should focus on identifying unambiguous features of life via four areas: examining life on Earth, building life in the lab, probing the solar system, and searching for technosignatures. Ultimately, we ask, what exactly do astrobiologists hope to learn by searching for life?
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Affiliation(s)
- Harrison B Smith
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Cole Mathis
- Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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23
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Brown SM, Mayer-Bacon C, Freeland S. Xeno Amino Acids: A Look into Biochemistry as We Do Not Know It. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:2281. [PMID: 38137883 PMCID: PMC10744825 DOI: 10.3390/life13122281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Would another origin of life resemble Earth's biochemical use of amino acids? Here, we review current knowledge at three levels: (1) Could other classes of chemical structure serve as building blocks for biopolymer structure and catalysis? Amino acids now seem both readily available to, and a plausible chemical attractor for, life as we do not know it. Amino acids thus remain important and tractable targets for astrobiological research. (2) If amino acids are used, would we expect the same L-alpha-structural subclass used by life? Despite numerous ideas, it is not clear why life favors L-enantiomers. It seems clearer, however, why life on Earth uses the shortest possible (alpha-) amino acid backbone, and why each carries only one side chain. However, assertions that other backbones are physicochemically impossible have relaxed into arguments that they are disadvantageous. (3) Would we expect a similar set of side chains to those within the genetic code? Many plausible alternatives exist. Furthermore, evidence exists for both evolutionary advantage and physicochemical constraint as explanatory factors for those encoded by life. Overall, as focus shifts from amino acids as a chemical class to specific side chains used by post-LUCA biology, the probable role of physicochemical constraint diminishes relative to that of biological evolution. Exciting opportunities now present themselves for laboratory work and computing to explore how changing the amino acid alphabet alters the universe of protein folds. Near-term milestones include: (a) expanding evidence about amino acids as attractors within chemical evolution; (b) extending characterization of other backbones relative to biological proteins; and (c) merging computing and laboratory explorations of structures and functions unlocked by xeno peptides.
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24
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Villanueva GL, Milam SN. A new era in solar system astronomy with JWST. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7444. [PMID: 37978299 PMCID: PMC10656557 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43313-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - S N Milam
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
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25
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Seaton KM, Pozarycki CI, Nuñez N, Stockton AM. A Robust Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection (CE-LIF) Method for Quantitative Compositional Analysis of Trace Amino Acids in Hypersaline Samples. ACS Earth Space Chem 2023; 7:2214-2221. [PMID: 38026810 PMCID: PMC10658621 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
The search for life in our solar system can be enabled by the characterization of extreme environments representing conditions expected on other planets within our solar system. Molecular abundances observed in these environments help establish instrument design requirements, including limits of detection and pH/salt tolerance, and may be used for validation of proposed planetary science instrumentation. Here, we optimize capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) separations for low limit of detection quantitative compositional analysis of amino acids in hypersaline samples using carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) as the amine-reactive fluorescent probe. Two methods were optimized for identification and quantification of proteinogenic amino acids, those with and those without acidic side chains, with limits of detection as low as 250 pM, improving on previous CFSE-amino acid CE-LIF methods by an order of magnitude. The resilience of the method to samples with high concentrations of Mg2+ (>4 M diluted to >0.4 M for analysis) is demonstrated on a sample collected from the salt harvesting facility South Bay Salt Works in San Diego, CA, demonstrating the highest Mg2+ tolerance for CE-LIF methods used in amino acid analyses to date. This advancement enables the rapid and robust analysis of trace amino acids and the search for biosignatures in hypersaline systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Marshall Seaton
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Chad I. Pozarycki
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Nickie Nuñez
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Amanda M. Stockton
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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Tumajer J, Braun S, Burger A, Scharnweber T, Smiljanic M, Walthert L, Zweifel R, Wilmking M. Dendrometers challenge the 'moon wood concept' by elucidating the absence of lunar cycles in tree stem radius oscillation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19904. [PMID: 37963987 PMCID: PMC10645754 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47013-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Wood is a sustainable natural resource and an important global commodity. According to the 'moon wood theory', the properties of wood, including its growth and water content, are believed to oscillate with the lunar cycle. Despite contradicting our current understanding of plant functioning, this theory is commonly exploited for marketing wooden products. To examine the moon wood theory, we applied a wavelet power transformation to series of 2,000,000 hourly stem radius records from dendrometers. We separated the influence of 74 consecutive lunar cycles and meteorological conditions on the stem variation of 62 trees and six species. We show that the dynamics of stem radius consist of overlapping oscillations with periods of 1 day, 6 months, and 1 year. These oscillations in stem dimensions were tightly coupled to oscillations in the series of air temperature and vapour pressure deficit. By contrast, we revealed no imprint of the lunar cycle on the stem radius variation of any species. We call for scepticism towards the moon wood theory, at least as far as the stem water content and radial growth are concerned. We foresee that similar studies employing robust scientific approaches will be increasingly needed in the future to cope with misleading concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Tumajer
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 12843, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Sabine Braun
- Institute for Applied Plant Biology AG, Benkenstrasse 254a, 4108, Witterswil, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Burger
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Tobias Scharnweber
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Marko Smiljanic
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Lorenz Walthert
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Roman Zweifel
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Martin Wilmking
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany
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Rosa CA, Bergantini A, Herczku P, Mifsud DV, Lakatos G, Kovács STS, Sulik B, Juhász Z, Ioppolo S, Quitián-Lara HM, Mason NJ, Lage C. Infrared Spectral Signatures of Nucleobases in Interstellar Ices I: Purines. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:2208. [PMID: 38004348 PMCID: PMC10672069 DOI: 10.3390/life13112208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The purine nucleobases adenine and guanine are complex organic molecules that are essential for life. Despite their ubiquitous presence on Earth, purines have yet to be detected in observations of astronomical environments. This work therefore proposes to study the infrared spectra of purines linked to terrestrial biochemical processes under conditions analogous to those found in the interstellar medium. The infrared spectra of adenine and guanine, both in neat form and embedded within an ice made of H2O:NH3:CH4:CO:CH3OH (10:1:1:1:1), were analysed with the aim of determining which bands attributable to adenine and/or guanine can be observed in the infrared spectrum of an astrophysical ice analogue rich in other volatile species known to be abundant in dense molecular clouds. The spectrum of adenine and guanine mixed together was also analysed. This study has identified three purine nucleobase infrared absorption bands that do not overlap with bands attributable to the volatiles that are ubiquitous in the dense interstellar medium. Therefore, these three bands, which are located at 1255, 940, and 878 cm-1, are proposed as an infrared spectral signature for adenine, guanine, or a mixture of these molecules in astrophysical ices. All three bands have integrated molar absorptivity values (ψ) greater than 4 km mol-1, meaning that they should be readily observable in astronomical targets. Therefore, if these three bands were to be observed together in the same target, then it is possible to propose the presence of a purine molecule (i.e., adenine or guanine) there.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Antunes Rosa
- Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Bergantini
- Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Centre for Technological Education, Rio de Janeiro 20271-110, Brazil
| | - Péter Herczku
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Duncan V. Mifsud
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gergő Lakatos
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | | | - Béla Sulik
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Juhász
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Sergio Ioppolo
- Centre for Interstellar Catalysis (InterCat), Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Heidy M. Quitián-Lara
- Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NH, UK
| | - Nigel J. Mason
- HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki), H-4026 Debrecen, Hungary
- Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NH, UK
| | - Claudia Lage
- Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-170, Brazil
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Abstract
Despite common perception, most of Earth is what is often referred to as an 'extreme environment.' Yet to the organisms that call these places home, it is simply that (home). They have adapted to thrive in these environments and, in the process, have evolved many unique adaptations at the molecular- and 'omic-level. Scientists' interest in these organisms has typically been in how they and their products can be harnessed for biotechnological applications and the environments where they are found, while the general public's veers more toward a fascination with their deviation from the 'norm'. However, these organisms have so much more to tell us about Life and the myriad ways there are to perform 'simple' biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Coker
- Center for Biotechnology Education, Advanced Academic Programs, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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Takahagi W, Okada S, Matsui Y, Ono S, Takai K, Takahashi Y, Kitadai N. Extreme accumulation of ammonia on electroreduced mackinawite: An abiotic ammonia storage mechanism in early ocean hydrothermal systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2303302120. [PMID: 37782799 PMCID: PMC10576140 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2303302120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
An increasing amount of evidence suggests that early ocean hydrothermal systems were sustained sources of ammonia, an essential nitrogen species for prebiotic synthesis of life's building blocks. However, it remains a riddle how the abiotically generated ammonia was retained at the vent-ocean interface for the subsequent chemical evolution. Here, we demonstrate that, under simulated geoelectrochemical conditions in early ocean hydrothermal systems ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text] V versus the standard hydrogen electrode), mackinawite gradually reduces to zero-valent iron ([Formula: see text]), generating interlayer [Formula: see text] sites. This reductive conversion leads to an up to 55-fold increase in the solid/liquid partition coefficient for ammonia, enabling over 90% adsorption of 1 mM ammonia in 1 M NaCl at neutral pH. A coordinative binding of ammonia on the interlayer [Formula: see text] sites was computed to be the major mechanism of selective ammonia adsorption. Mackinawite is a ubiquitous sulfide precipitate in submarine hydrothermal systems. Given its reported catalytic function in amination, the extreme accumulation of ammonia on electroreduced mackinawite should have been a crucial initial step for prebiotic nitrogen assimilation, paving the way to the origin of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Takahagi
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo113-0033, Japan
- Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research, (X-star), Super-cutting-edge Grand and Advanced Research (SUGAR) Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
- Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY12180
| | - Satoshi Okada
- Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research, (X-star), Super-cutting-edge Grand and Advanced Research (SUGAR) Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
| | - Yohei Matsui
- Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
| | - Shigeaki Ono
- Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
| | - Ken Takai
- Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research, (X-star), Super-cutting-edge Grand and Advanced Research (SUGAR) Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
| | - Yoshio Takahashi
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo113-0033, Japan
| | - Norio Kitadai
- Institute for Extra-Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Avant-Garde Research, (X-star), Super-cutting-edge Grand and Advanced Research (SUGAR) Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka237-0061, Japan
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo152-8550, Japan
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Schwander L, Brabender M, Mrnjavac N, Wimmer JLE, Preiner M, Martin WF. Serpentinization as the source of energy, electrons, organics, catalysts, nutrients and pH gradients for the origin of LUCA and life. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1257597. [PMID: 37854333 PMCID: PMC10581274 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1257597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Serpentinization in hydrothermal vents is central to some autotrophic theories for the origin of life because it generates compartments, reductants, catalysts and gradients. During the process of serpentinization, water circulates through hydrothermal systems in the crust where it oxidizes Fe (II) in ultramafic minerals to generate Fe (III) minerals and H2. Molecular hydrogen can, in turn, serve as a freely diffusible source of electrons for the reduction of CO2 to organic compounds, provided that suitable catalysts are present. Using catalysts that are naturally synthesized in hydrothermal vents during serpentinization H2 reduces CO2 to formate, acetate, pyruvate, and methane. These compounds represent the backbone of microbial carbon and energy metabolism in acetogens and methanogens, strictly anaerobic chemolithoautotrophs that use the acetyl-CoA pathway of CO2 fixation and that inhabit serpentinizing environments today. Serpentinization generates reduced carbon, nitrogen and - as newer findings suggest - reduced phosphorous compounds that were likely conducive to the origins process. In addition, it gives rise to inorganic microcompartments and proton gradients of the right polarity and of sufficient magnitude to support chemiosmotic ATP synthesis by the rotor-stator ATP synthase. This would help to explain why the principle of chemiosmotic energy harnessing is more conserved (older) than the machinery to generate ion gradients via pumping coupled to exergonic chemical reactions, which in the case of acetogens and methanogens involve H2-dependent CO2 reduction. Serpentinizing systems exist in terrestrial and deep ocean environments. On the early Earth they were probably more abundant than today. There is evidence that serpentinization once occurred on Mars and is likely still occurring on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, providing a perspective on serpentinization as a source of reductants, catalysts and chemical disequilibrium for life on other worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loraine Schwander
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Biology Department, Math. -Nat. Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Max Brabender
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Biology Department, Math. -Nat. Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Natalia Mrnjavac
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Biology Department, Math. -Nat. Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jessica L. E. Wimmer
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Biology Department, Math. -Nat. Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Martina Preiner
- Microcosm Earth Center, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany
| | - William F. Martin
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Biology Department, Math. -Nat. Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Schuerger AC, Borrell AV. Shock-Impacts and Vibrational g-Forces Can Dislodge Bacillus spp. Spores from Spacecraft Surfaces. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2421. [PMID: 37894079 PMCID: PMC10609464 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mars spacecraft encounter numerous g-loads that occur along the launch or landing vectors (called axial vectors) or along lateral off-axes vectors. The goal of this research was to determine if there was a threshold for dislodging spores under brute-force dynamic shock compressional impacts (i.e., henceforth called shock-impacts) or long-term vibrationally induced g-loads that might simulate spacecraft launches or landings profiles. Results indicated that spores of Bacillus subtilis 168 and B. atrophaeus ATCC 9372 were dislodged from ChemFilm-coated aluminum coupons during shock impact events of 60 g's or higher. In contrast, the threshold for dislodging B. pumilus SAFR-032 spores was approx. 80 g's. Vibrational g-loading was conducted at approx. 12-15 g's (z-axis) and 77 Hz. All three Bacillus spp. exhibited very modest spore dislodgement at 1, 4, or 8 min of induced vibrational g-loads. However, the numbers of spores released depended on the Earth's g-vector relative to the bacterial monolayers. When the experimental hardware was placed in an 'Up' orientation (defined as the spores sat on the upper surface of the coupons and the coupons pointed up and away from Earth's g-vector), zero to only a few spores were dislodged. When the experimental hardware was inverted and the coupon surfaces were in a 'Down' orientation, the number of spores released increased by 20-30 times. Overall, the results of both assays suggest that spores on spacecraft surfaces will not likely be dislodged during nominal launch and landing scenarios, with the exception of jettisoned hardware (e.g., heat shields or backshells) during landing that might hit the Martian terrain at high g's. However, off-nominal landings hitting the Martian surface at >60 g's are likely to release low numbers of spores into the atmosphere and regolith.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew C. Schuerger
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Space Life Sciences Lab, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, Merritt Island, FL 32953, USA
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32
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Fairén AG. Editorial: Reviews in astrobiology. Front Astron Space Sci 2023; 10:1292594. [PMID: 38274709 PMCID: PMC7615568 DOI: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1292594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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Hidalgo-Arias A, Muñoz-Hisado V, Valles P, Geyer A, Garcia-Lopez E, Cid C. Adaptation of the Endolithic Biome in Antarctic Volcanic Rocks. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13824. [PMID: 37762127 PMCID: PMC10530270 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Endolithic microorganisms, ranging from microeukaryotes to bacteria and archaea, live within the cracks and crevices of rocks. Deception Island in Antarctica constitutes an extreme environment in which endoliths face environmental threats such as intense cold, lack of light in winter, high solar radiation in summer, and heat emitted as the result of volcanic eruptions. In addition, the endolithic biome is considered the harshest one on Earth, since it suffers added threats such as dryness or lack of nutrients. Even so, samples from this hostile environment, collected at various points throughout the island, hosted diverse and numerous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, diatoms, ciliates, flagellates and unicellular algae. These endoliths were first identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To understand the molecular mechanisms of adaptation of these endoliths to their environment, genomics techniques were used, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were identified by metabarcoding, sequencing the V3-V4 and V4-V5 regions of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, respectively. Subsequently, the sequences were analyzed by bioinformatic methods that allow their metabolism to be deduced from the taxonomy. The results obtained concluded that some of these microorganisms have activated the biosynthesis routes of pigments such as prodigiosin or flavonoids. These adaptation studies also revealed that microorganisms defend themselves against environmental toxins by activating metabolic pathways for the degradation of compounds such as ethylbenzene, xylene and dioxins and for the biosynthesis of antioxidant molecules such as glutathione. Finally, these Antarctic endolithic microorganisms are of great interest in astrobiology since endolithic settings are environmentally analogous to the primitive Earth or the surfaces of extraterrestrial bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Hidalgo-Arias
- Center for Astrobiology (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (A.H.-A.); (V.M.-H.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Víctor Muñoz-Hisado
- Center for Astrobiology (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (A.H.-A.); (V.M.-H.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Pilar Valles
- Materials and Structures Department, National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Adelina Geyer
- Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN), CSIC, Lluís Solé Sabarís s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Eva Garcia-Lopez
- Center for Astrobiology (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (A.H.-A.); (V.M.-H.); (E.G.-L.)
| | - Cristina Cid
- Center for Astrobiology (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain; (A.H.-A.); (V.M.-H.); (E.G.-L.)
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Seager S, Petkowski JJ, Huang J, Zhan Z, Ravela S, Bains W. Fully fluorinated non-carbon compounds NF 3 and SF 6 as ideal technosignature gases. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13576. [PMID: 37604949 PMCID: PMC10442443 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39972-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Waste gas products from technological civilizations may accumulate in an exoplanet atmosphere to detectable levels. We propose nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as ideal technosignature gases. Earth life avoids producing or using any N-F or S-F bond-containing molecules and makes no fully fluorinated molecules with any element. NF3 and SF6 may be universal technosignatures owing to their special industrial properties, which unlike biosignature gases, are not species-dependent. Other key relevant qualities of NF3 and SF6 are: their extremely low water solubility, unique spectral features, and long atmospheric lifetimes. NF3 has no non-human sources and was absent from Earth's pre-industrial atmosphere. SF6 is released in only tiny amounts from fluorine-containing minerals, and is likely produced in only trivial amounts by volcanic eruptions. We propose a strategy to rule out SF6's abiotic source by simultaneous observations of SiF4, which is released by volcanoes in an order of magnitude higher abundance than SF6. Other fully fluorinated human-made molecules are of interest, but their chemical and spectral properties are unavailable. We summarize why life on Earth-and perhaps life elsewhere-avoids using F. We caution, however, that we cannot definitively disentangle an alien biochemistry byproduct from a technosignature gas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Seager
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Janusz J Petkowski
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- JJ Scientific, 02-792, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jingcheng Huang
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Zhuchang Zhan
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Sai Ravela
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - William Bains
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, 4 The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
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35
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Zupanska AK, Arena C, Zuñiga GE, Casanova-Katny A, Turnbull JD, Bravo LA, Ramos P, Sun H, Shishov VV. Editorial: Revisiting the limits of plant life - plant adaptations to extreme terrestrial environments relating to astrobiology and space biology. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1267183. [PMID: 37662183 PMCID: PMC10472590 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1267183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Carmen Arena
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Gustavo E. Zuñiga
- Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biotecnología Vegetal, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Angelica Casanova-Katny
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, Catholic University of Temuco, Temuco, Chile
| | - Johanna D. Turnbull
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences (SEALS), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Patricio Ramos
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
- Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Hang Sun
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming, China
| | - Vladimir V. Shishov
- School of Fundamental Biology and Biotechnology, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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Vilović I, Schulze-Makuch D, Heller R. Variations in climate habitability parameters and their effect on Earth's biosphere during the Phanerozoic Eon. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12663. [PMID: 37542097 PMCID: PMC10403619 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39716-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Essential insights on the characterization and quality of a detectable biosphere are gained by analyzing the effects of its environmental parameters. We compiled environmental and biological properties of the Phanerozoic Eon from various published data sets and conducted a correlation analysis to assess variations in parameters relevant to the habitability of Earth's biosphere. We showed that environmental parameters such as oxygen, global average surface temperatures, runoff rates and carbon dioxide are interrelated and play a key role in the changes of biomass and biodiversity. We showed that there were several periods with a highly thriving biosphere, with one even surpassing present day biodiversity and biomass. Those periods were characterized by increased oxygen levels and global runoff rates, as well as moderate global average surface temperatures, as long as no large or rapid positive and/or negative temperature excursions occurred. High oxygen contents are diagnostic of biomass production by continental plant life. We find that exceptionally high oxygen levels can at least in one instance compensate for decreased relative humidities, providing an even more habitable environment compared to today. Beyond Earth, these results will help us to understand how environmental parameters affect biospheres on extrasolar planets and guide us in our search for extraterrestrial life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iva Vilović
- Astrobiology Research Group, Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Dirk Schulze-Makuch
- Astrobiology Research Group, Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany
- GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, 14473, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), 16775, Stechlin, Germany
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - René Heller
- Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Institut für Astrophysik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
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Sharma S, Roppel RD, Murphy AE, Beegle LW, Bhartia R, Steele A, Hollis JR, Siljeström S, McCubbin FM, Asher SA, Abbey WJ, Allwood AC, Berger EL, Bleefeld BL, Burton AS, Bykov SV, Cardarelli EL, Conrad PG, Corpolongo A, Czaja AD, DeFlores LP, Edgett K, Farley KA, Fornaro T, Fox AC, Fries MD, Harker D, Hickman-Lewis K, Huggett J, Imbeah S, Jakubek RS, Kah LC, Lee C, Liu Y, Magee A, Minitti M, Moore KR, Pascuzzo A, Rodriguez Sanchez-Vahamonde C, Scheller EL, Shkolyar S, Stack KM, Steadman K, Tuite M, Uckert K, Werynski A, Wiens RC, Williams AJ, Winchell K, Kennedy MR, Yanchilina A. Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars. Nature 2023; 619:724-732. [PMID: 37438522 PMCID: PMC10371864 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06143-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
The presence and distribution of preserved organic matter on the surface of Mars can provide key information about the Martian carbon cycle and the potential of the planet to host life throughout its history. Several types of organic molecules have been previously detected in Martian meteorites1 and at Gale crater, Mars2-4. Evaluating the diversity and detectability of organic matter elsewhere on Mars is important for understanding the extent and diversity of Martian surface processes and the potential availability of carbon sources1,5,6. Here we report the detection of Raman and fluorescence spectra consistent with several species of aromatic organic molecules in the Máaz and Séítah formations within the Crater Floor sequences of Jezero crater, Mars. We report specific fluorescence-mineral associations consistent with many classes of organic molecules occurring in different spatial patterns within these compositionally distinct formations, potentially indicating different fates of carbon across environments. Our findings suggest there may be a diversity of aromatic molecules prevalent on the Martian surface, and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions. These potential organic molecules are largely found within minerals linked to aqueous processes, indicating that these processes may have had a key role in organic synthesis, transport or preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunanda Sharma
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Ryan D Roppel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Andrew Steele
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Sandra Siljeström
- Department of Methodology, Textiles and Medical Technology, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Francis M McCubbin
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sanford A Asher
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - William J Abbey
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Abigail C Allwood
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Eve L Berger
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas State University, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs JETS II, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Aaron S Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sergei V Bykov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Emily L Cardarelli
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Pamela G Conrad
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Andrea Corpolongo
- Department of Geosciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Andrew D Czaja
- Department of Geosciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Lauren P DeFlores
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Kenneth A Farley
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Teresa Fornaro
- Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, INAF, Florence, Italy
| | - Allison C Fox
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas State University, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs JETS II, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Marc D Fries
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David Harker
- Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Samara Imbeah
- Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ryan S Jakubek
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs JETS II, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Linda C Kah
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Carina Lee
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas State University, Houston, TX, USA
- Jacobs JETS II, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yang Liu
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Angela Magee
- Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Kelsey R Moore
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Eva L Scheller
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Svetlana Shkolyar
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kathryn M Stack
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Kim Steadman
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Michael Tuite
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Kyle Uckert
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Roger C Wiens
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Amy J Williams
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Katherine Winchell
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Molina-Montenegro MA, Escobedo VM, Atala C. Inoculation with extreme endophytes improves performance and nutritional quality in crop species grown under exoplanetary conditions. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1139704. [PMID: 37426965 PMCID: PMC10325655 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1139704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Technological advances have made possible long space travels and even exoplanetary colonies in the future. Nevertheless, the success of these activities depends on our ability to produce edible plants in stressful conditions such as high radiation, extreme temperatures and low oxygen levels. Since beneficial microorganisms, such as fungal endophytes from extreme environments, have helped agriculture cope with those difficulties, endophytic fungi may be a putative tool to ensure plant growth under exoplanetary conditions. Additionally, growing crops in polyculture has been shown to increase productivity and spatial efficiency, which is essential given the likely space restrictions in such conditions. Methods We evaluated the effect of the inoculation with a mix of two fungal endophytes from the Atacama Desert on performance (survival and biomass) and nutritional quality of three crop species (lettuce, chard and spinach) grown under exoplanetary conditions. In addition, we measured the amount of antioxidants (flavonoids and phenolics) as possible mechanisms to cope with such abiotic conditions. The exoplanetary conditions were; high UV radiation, low temperature, low water availability, and low oxygen levels. These crops were put in growing chambers in monoculture, dual culture and polyculture (the three species in the same pot) for 30 days. Results and Discussion Our results show that inoculation with extreme endophytes improved survival by ca. 15 - 35% and biomass by ca. 30 - 35% in all crop species. The most evident increase was when grown in polyculture, except for survival in spinach, where inoculated plants had higher survival only in dual culture. Nutritional quality and the amount of the antioxidant compounds antioxidants increased in all crop species when inoculated with the endophytes. Overall, fungal endophytes isolated from extreme environments such as the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world, could be a key biotechnological tool for future space agriculture, helping plants cope with environmental stress. Additionally, inoculated plants should be grown in polyculture to increase crop turnover and space-use efficiency. Lastly, these results provide useful insights to face the future challenges of space-farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco A. Molina-Montenegro
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
- Centro de Investigación en Estudios Avanzados del Maule (CIEAM), Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Victor M. Escobedo
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
- Instituto de Investigación Interdisciplinaria (I), Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile
| | - Cristian Atala
- Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
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Tagami S. Why we are made of proteins and nucleic acids: Structural biology views on extraterrestrial life. Biophys Physicobiol 2023; 20:e200026. [PMID: 38496239 PMCID: PMC10941967 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.bppb-v20.0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Is it a miracle that life exists on the Earth, or is it a common phenomenon in the universe? If extraterrestrial organisms exist, what are they like? To answer these questions, we must understand what kinds of molecules could evolve into life, or in other words, what properties are generally required to perform biological functions and store genetic information. This review summarizes recent findings on simple ancestral proteins, outlines the basic knowledge in textbooks, and discusses the generally required properties for biological molecules from structural biology viewpoints (e.g., restriction of shapes, and types of intra- and intermolecular interactions), leading to the conclusion that proteins and nucleic acids are at least one of the simplest (and perhaps very common) forms of catalytic and genetic biopolymers in the universe. This review article is an extended version of the Japanese article, On the Origin of Life: Coevolution between RNA and Peptide, published in SEIBUTSU BUTSURI Vol. 61, p. 232-235 (2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
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41
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Runge EA, Mansor M, Kappler A, Duda JP. Microbial biosignatures in ancient deep-sea hydrothermal sulfides. Geobiology 2023; 21:355-377. [PMID: 36524457 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Deep-sea hydrothermal systems provide ideal conditions for prebiotic reactions and ancient metabolic pathways and, therefore, might have played a pivotal role in the emergence of life. To understand this role better, it is paramount to examine fundamental interactions between hydrothermal processes, non-living matter, and microbial life in deep time. However, the distribution and diversity of microbial communities in ancient deep-sea hydrothermal systems are still poorly constrained, so evolutionary, and ecological relationships remain unclear. One important reason is an insufficient understanding of the formation of diagnostic microbial biosignatures in such settings and their preservation through geological time. This contribution centers around microbial biosignatures in Precambrian deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide deposits. Intending to provide a valuable resource for scientists from across the natural sciences whose research is concerned with the origins of life, we first introduce different types of biosignatures that can be preserved over geological timescales (rock fabrics and textures, microfossils, mineral precipitates, carbonaceous matter, trace metal, and isotope geochemical signatures). We then review selected reports of biosignatures from Precambrian deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide deposits and discuss their geobiological significance. Our survey highlights that Precambrian hydrothermal sulfide deposits potentially encode valuable information on environmental conditions, the presence and nature of microbial life, and the complex interactions between fluids, micro-organisms, and minerals. It further emphasizes that the geobiological interpretation of these records is challenging and requires the concerted application of analytical and experimental methods from various fields, including geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and microbiology. Well-orchestrated multidisciplinary studies allow us to understand the formation and preservation of microbial biosignatures in deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide systems and thus help unravel the fundamental geobiology of ancient settings. This, in turn, is critical for reconstructing life's emergence and early evolution on Earth and the search for life elsewhere in the universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Alexander Runge
- Sedimentology and Organic Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Muammar Mansor
- Geomicrobiology, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Kappler
- Geomicrobiology, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124, Controlling Microbes to Fight Infection, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jan-Peter Duda
- Sedimentology and Organic Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Geobiology, Geoscience Center, Göttingen University, Göttingen, Germany
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Potiszil C, Ota T, Yamanaka M, Sakaguchi C, Kobayashi K, Tanaka R, Kunihiro T, Kitagawa H, Abe M, Miyazaki A, Nakato A, Nakazawa S, Nishimura M, Okada T, Saiki T, Tanaka S, Terui F, Tsuda Y, Usui T, Watanabe SI, Yada T, Yogata K, Yoshikawa M, Nakamura E. Insights into the formation and evolution of extraterrestrial amino acids from the asteroid Ryugu. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1482. [PMID: 36932072 PMCID: PMC10023693 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37107-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
All life on Earth contains amino acids and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites have been suggested as their source at the origin of life on Earth. While many meteoritic amino acids are considered indigenous, deciphering the extent of terrestrial contamination remains an issue. The Ryugu asteroid fragments (JAXA Hayabusa2 mission), represent the most uncontaminated primitive extraterrestrial material available. Here, the concentrations of amino acids from two particles from different touchdown sites (TD1 and TD2) are reported. The concentrations show that N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) is the most abundant amino acid in the TD1 particle, but below detection limit in the other. The TD1 particle mineral components indicate it experienced more aqueous alteration. Furthermore, the relationships between the amino acids and the geochemistry suggest that DMG formed on the Ryugu progenitor body during aqueous alteration. The findings highlight the importance of aqueous chemistry for defining the ultimate concentrations of amino acids in primitive extraterrestrial samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Potiszil
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan.
| | - Tsutomu Ota
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Masahiro Yamanaka
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Chie Sakaguchi
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Katsura Kobayashi
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Ryoji Tanaka
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Tak Kunihiro
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kitagawa
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
| | - Masanao Abe
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Akiko Miyazaki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Aiko Nakato
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Satoru Nakazawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Masahiro Nishimura
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Okada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takanao Saiki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Satoshi Tanaka
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
- University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Fuyuto Terui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Atsugi, Japan
| | - Yuichi Tsuda
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Usui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | | | - Toru Yada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Kasumi Yogata
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Makoto Yoshikawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Eizo Nakamura
- Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori, 682-0193, Japan
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Richards NGJ, Bearne SL, Goto Y, Parker EJ. Reactivity and mechanism in chemical and synthetic biology. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220023. [PMID: 36633278 PMCID: PMC9835593 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Physical organic chemistry and mechanistic thinking provide a strong intellectual framework for understanding the chemical logic of evolvable informational macromolecules and metabolic transformations in living organisms. These concepts have also led to numerous successes in designing and applying tools to delineate biological function in health and disease, chemical ecology and possible alternative chemistries employed by extraterrestrial life. A symposium at the 2020 Pacifichem meeting was scheduled in December 2020 to discuss designing and exploiting expanded genetic alphabets, methods to understand the biosynthesis of natural products and re-engineering primary metabolism in bacteria. The COVID-19 pandemic led to postponement of in-person discussions, with the symposium eventually being held on 20-21 December 2021 as an online event. This issue is a written record of work presented on biosynthetic pathways and enzyme catalysis, engineering microorganisms with new metabolic capabilities, and the synthesis of non-canonical, nucleobases for medical applications and for studies of alternate chemistries for living organisms. The variety of opinion pieces, reviews and original research articles provide a starting point for innovations that clarify how complex biological systems emerge from the rules of chemical reactivity and mechanism. This article is part of the themed issue 'Reactivity and mechanism in chemical and synthetic biology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel G. J. Richards
- School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
- Foundation for Advanced Molecular Evolution, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL 32615, USA
| | - Stephen L. Bearne
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
- Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, 6274 Coburg Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
| | - Yuki Goto
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Emily J. Parker
- Department of Chemistry, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, Wellington 6012, New Zealand
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Azua-Bustos A, Fairén AG, González-Silva C, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Carrizo D, Sánchez-García L, Parro V, Fernández-Martínez MÁ, Escudero C, Muñoz-Iglesias V, Fernández-Sampedro M, Molina A, Villadangos MG, Moreno-Paz M, Wierzchos J, Ascaso C, Fornaro T, Brucato JR, Poggiali G, Manrique JA, Veneranda M, López-Reyes G, Sanz-Arranz A, Rull F, Ollila AM, Wiens RC, Reyes-Newell A, Clegg SM, Millan M, Johnson SS, McIntosh O, Szopa C, Freissinet C, Sekine Y, Fukushi K, Morida K, Inoue K, Sakuma H, Rampe E. Dark microbiome and extremely low organics in Atacama fossil delta unveil Mars life detection limits. Nat Commun 2023; 14:808. [PMID: 36810853 PMCID: PMC9944251 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36172-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying unequivocal signs of life on Mars is one of the most important objectives for sending missions to the red planet. Here we report Red Stone, a 163-100 My alluvial fan-fan delta that formed under arid conditions in the Atacama Desert, rich in hematite and mudstones containing clays such as vermiculite and smectites, and therefore geologically analogous to Mars. We show that Red Stone samples display an important number of microorganisms with an unusual high rate of phylogenetic indeterminacy, what we refer to as "dark microbiome", and a mix of biosignatures from extant and ancient microorganisms that can be barely detected with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment. Our analyses by testbed instruments that are on or will be sent to Mars unveil that although the mineralogy of Red Stone matches that detected by ground-based instruments on the red planet, similarly low levels of organics will be hard, if not impossible to detect in Martian rocks depending on the instrument and technique used. Our results stress the importance in returning samples to Earth for conclusively addressing whether life ever existed on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Azua-Bustos
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain. .,Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
| | - Alberto G Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain.,Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel Carrizo
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Antonio Molina
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Jacek Wierzchos
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Ascaso
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Teresa Fornaro
- INAF-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Florence, Italy
| | | | | | - Jose Antonio Manrique
- Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.,Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Ann M Ollila
- Purdue University, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, West Lafayette, USA
| | - Roger C Wiens
- Purdue University, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, West Lafayette, USA
| | | | - Samuel M Clegg
- Purdue University, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, West Lafayette, USA
| | - Maëva Millan
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA.,LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - Sarah Stewart Johnson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.,Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Ophélie McIntosh
- INAF-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Florence, Italy.,Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Cyril Szopa
- Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Caroline Freissinet
- Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Yasuhito Sekine
- Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.,Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Keisuke Fukushi
- Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Koki Morida
- Division of Natural System, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Kosuke Inoue
- Division of Natural System, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sakuma
- National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Elizabeth Rampe
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
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Stoker CR. Life on Mars, can we detect it? Nat Commun 2023; 14:807. [PMID: 36810588 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36176-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
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Papineau D, Devine K, Nogueira BA. Self-Similar Patterns from Abiotic Decarboxylation Metabolism through Chemically Oscillating Reactions: A Prebiotic Model for the Origin of Life. Life (Basel) 2023; 13. [PMID: 36836908 DOI: 10.3390/life13020551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The origin of life must have included an abiotic stage of carbon redox reactions that involved electron transport chains and the production of lifelike patterns. Chemically oscillating reactions (COR) are abiotic, spontaneous, out-of-equilibrium, and redox reactions that involve the decarboxylation of carboxylic acids with strong oxidants and strong acids to produce CO2 and characteristic self-similar patterns. Those patterns have circular concentricity, radial geometries, characteristic circular twins, colour gradients, cavity structures, and branching to parallel alignment. We propose that COR played a role during the prebiotic cycling of carboxylic acids, furthering the new model for geology where COR can also explain the patterns of diagenetic spheroids in sediments. The patterns of COR in Petri dishes are first considered and compared to those observed in some eukaryotic lifeforms. The molecular structures and functions of reactants in COR are then compared to key biological metabolic processes. We conclude that the newly recognised similarities in compositions and patterns warrant future research to better investigate the role of halogens in biochemistry; COR in life-forms, including in humans; and the COR-stage of prebiotic carbon cycling on other planets, such as Mars.
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Myers MR, King GM. Perchlorate-Coupled Carbon Monoxide (CO) Oxidation by Moorella glycerini, an Obligately Anaerobic, Thermophilic, Nickel-Dependent Carboxydotroph. Microorganisms 2023; 11. [PMID: 36838427 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Many facultative and obligate anaerobes reduce perchlorate. Likewise, carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation has been documented in many aerobes, facultative anaerobes, and obligate anaerobes. A molybdenum-dependent CO dehydrogenase (Mo-CODH) and a nickel-dependent CO dehydrogenase (Ni-CODH) distinguish the former from the latter. Some Mo-dependent CO oxidizers (Mo-COX) couple CO oxidation to perchlorate reduction, but only at low concentrations of both under conditions that do not support growth in cultures. In contrast, CO-coupled perchlorate reduction has not been documented in Ni-dependent CO oxidizers (Ni-COX). To assess the potential for Ni-COX to reduce perchlorate, a model, obligately anaerobic homoacetogen, Moorella glycerini DSM 11254T, was cultivated with or without perchlorate, usiing CO or glycerol as its sole carbon and energy source. It grew with glycerol with or without perchlorate, and its maximum cell densities were only weakly affected by the perchlorate. However, when CO (at a 30% headspace concentration) was used as a carbon and energy source, perchlorate reduction supported greater cell densities and more rapid growth rates. The stoichiometry of CO uptake, perchlorate reduction, and chloride production were consistent with the cryptic pathway for perchlorate reduction with chlorite as an end product. Chloride production occurred abiologically in the medium due to a reaction between chlorite and the sulfide used as a reducing agent. These results provide the first demonstration of CO-coupled perchlorate reduction supporting growth in Ni-COX, and they provide constraints on the potential for perchlorate-coupled, anaerobic CO oxidation in engineered systems as well as terrestrial systems and hypothetical, sub-surface, serpentinite-hosted systems on Mars.
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Calapez F, Dias R, Cesário R, Gonçalves D, Pedras B, Canário J, Martins Z. Spectroscopic Detection of Biosignatures in Natural Ice Samples as a Proxy for Icy Moons. Life (Basel) 2023; 13. [PMID: 36836835 DOI: 10.3390/life13020478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Some of the icy moons of the solar system with a subsurface ocean, such as Europa and Enceladus, are the targets of future space missions that search for potential extraterrestrial life forms. While the ice shells that envelop these moons have been studied by several spacecrafts, the oceans beneath them remain unreachable. To better constrain the habitability conditions of these moons, we must understand the interactions between their frozen crusts, liquid layers, and silicate mantles. To that end, astrobiologists rely on planetary field analogues, for which the polar regions of Earth have proven to be great candidates. This review shows how spectroscopy is a powerful tool in space missions to detect potential biosignatures, in particular on the aforementioned moons, and how the polar regions of the Earth are being used as planetary field analogues for these extra-terrestrial environments.
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Chen Y, Zhang Q, Wang D, Shu YG, Shi H. Memory Effect on the Survival of Deinococcus radiodurans after Exposure in Near Space. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0347422. [PMID: 36749041 PMCID: PMC10100890 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03474-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Near space (20 to 100 km in altitude) is an extreme environment with high radiation and extreme cold, making it difficult for organisms to survive. However, many studies had shown that there were still microbes living in this extremely harsh environment. It was particularly important to study which factors affected the survival of microorganisms living in near space after exposure to irradiation, as this was related to many studies, such as studies of radioresistance mechanisms, panspermia hypothesis, long-distance microbial transfer, and developing extraterrestrial habitats. Survival after radiation was probably influenced by the growth condition before radiation, which is called the memory effect. In this research, we used different growth conditions to affect the growth of Deinococcus radiodurans and lyophilized bacteria in exponential phase to maintain the physiological state at this stage. Then high-altitude scientific balloon exposure experiments were carried out by using the Chinese Academy of Sciences Balloon-Borne Astrobiology Platform (CAS-BAP) at Dachaidan, Qinghai, China (37°44'N, 95°21'E). The aim was to investigate which factors influence survival after near-space exposure. The results suggested that there was a memory effect on the survival of D. radiodurans after exposure. If the differences in growth rate were caused by differences in nutrition, the survival rate and growth rate were positively correlated. Moreover, the addition of paraquat and Mn2+ during the growth phase can also increase survival. This finding may help to deepen the understanding of the mechanics of radiation protection and provide relevant evidence for many studies, such as of long-distance transfer of microorganisms in near space. IMPORTANCE Earth's near space is an extreme environment with high radiation and extreme cold. Which factors affect the survival of microbes in near space is related to many studies, such as studies of radioresistance mechanisms, panspermia hypothesis, long-distance microbial transfer, and developing extraterrestrial habitats. We performed several exposure experiments with Deinococcus radiodurans in near space to investigate which factors influence the survival rate after near-space exposure; that is, there was a relationship between survival after radiation and the growth condition before radiation. The results suggested that there was a memory effect on the survival of D. radiodurans after exposure. This finding may help to deepen the understanding of the mechanism of radiation protection and provide relevant evidence for many studies, such as of long-distance transfer of microorganisms in near space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yining Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Deyu Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yao-Gen Shu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China
| | - Hualin Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China
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Górecki I, Kołodziejczyk A, Harasymczuk M, Młynarczyk G, Szymanek-Majchrzak K. The Impact of Harsh Stratospheric Conditions on Survival and Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Non-Spore Forming Multidrug Resistant Human Pathogenic Bacteria Causing Hospital-Associated Infections. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:2787. [PMID: 36833485 PMCID: PMC9956888 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20042787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria are constantly being lifted to the stratosphere due to air movements caused by weather phenomena, volcanic eruptions, or human activity. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, they are exposed to extremely harsh and mutagenic conditions such as UV and space radiation or ozone. Most bacteria cannot withstand that stress, but for a fraction of them, it can act as a trigger for selective pressure and rapid evolution. We assessed the impact of stratospheric conditions on the survival and antibiotic resistance profile of common non-spore-forming human pathogenic bacteria, both sensitive and extremely dangerous multidrug-resistant variants, with plasmid-mediated mechanisms of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not survive the exposure. In the case of strains that were recovered alive, the survival was extremely low: From 0.00001% of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the ndm-1 gene and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mecA-positive with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MRSA/VISA), to a maximum of 0.001% of K. pneumoniae sensitive to all common antibiotics and S. aureus sensitive to vancomycin (MRSA/VSSA). We noticed a tendency towards increased antibiotic susceptibility after the stratospheric flight. Antimicrobial resistance is a current real, global, and increasing problem, and our results can inform current understandings of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and development in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacy Górecki
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Agata Kołodziejczyk
- Analog Astronaut Training Center, Morelowa Str. 1F/4, 30-222 Cracow, Poland
- Space Technology Centre, AGH University of Technology, Czarnowiejska Str. 36, 30-054 Cracow, Poland
| | - Matt Harasymczuk
- Analog Astronaut Training Center, Morelowa Str. 1F/4, 30-222 Cracow, Poland
| | - Grażyna Młynarczyk
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ksenia Szymanek-Majchrzak
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland
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