Detection of Biosignatures in Natural and Microbial Cultured Jarosites Using Laser- Desorption Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry: Implications for Astrobiology

Details Detection of Biosignatures in Natural and Microbial Cultured Jarosites Using Laser- Desorption Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry: Implications for Astrobiology Detection of Biosignatures in Natural and Microbial Cultured Jarosites Using Laser- Desorption Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry: Implications for Astrobiology

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.b11a1013k&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #B11A-1013

Biology

0406 Astrobiology And Extraterrestrial Materials, 0419 Biomineralization, 0424 Biosignatures And Proxies, 0448 Geomicrobiology, 0466 Modeling

Scientific paper

The jarosite group minerals have received increasing attention since the discovery by the Mars Exploration Rover-Opportunity of jarosite on the Martian surface. The general chemical formula for jarosite is XFe3(SO4)2(OH)6 where the X represents both monovalent and divalent cations that can occupy the axial positions in the crystal structure. Commonly found ions include K+, Na+, H3O+, NH4+, and Pb2+ with reports of other large ions occupying this position in the literature. Modeling efforts have been performed to confirm that jarosite has the ability to incorporate a variety of "foreign" cations. The minerals unique ability to incorporate various large ions in its structure and its association with biological activity in terrestrial environments has lead to investigations regarding its use as an indicator of aqueous and/or biological activity. The use of laser desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LD-FTMS) has revealed the presence of organic matter including the amino acid, glycine, in several jarosite samples from various worldwide locations. Iron precipitates derived from acidophilic microbial cultures were also analyzed. Using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), signals indicative of microbes or microbial exudates were weak and ambiguous. In contrast, LD-FTMS clearly detected bioorganic constituents in some desorption spots. However, the signals were sporadic and required the laser scanning/imaging capability of our laboratory built system to locate the microbial signatures in the heterogeneous samples. The ability to observe these bioorganic signatures in jarosite samples using the instrumental technique employed in this study furthers the goals of planetary geologists to determine whether signs of life (e.g., presence of biomolecules or biomolecule precursors) can be detected in the rock record of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples.

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