Biology
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p52b..05b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P52B-05
Biology
1060 Planetary Geochemistry (5405, 5410, 5704, 5709, 6005, 6008), 1094 Instruments And Techniques, 4840 Microbiology, 4870 Stable Isotopes, 5494 Instruments And Techniques
Scientific paper
Of the five key light stable isotope biomarkers, C, H, O, N and S, oxygen has received relatively limited application to the search for life and previous oxygen isotope studies of extraterrestrial materials have often focused on oxygen in carbonates and silicates. This is due, in part, to the limited study and development of other oxygen isotope ratio systems relevant to biological activity (e.g., phosphate, sulfate, nitrate) specifically for application to the search for extraterrestrial life. An overview of oxygen isotope biomarker systematics will be presented with emphasis on development of O isotope ratios of phosphate as a new biomarker in the search for life on Mars and Europa. Phosphate is central to life on Earth and has been widely recognized and applied as a biomarker molecule in the form of phosphate minerals, in studies of ancient life on Earth. The lack of multiple stable isotopes of P precludes direct stable isotope ratio studies of P, however, itÂA~\x9Ds occurrence as predominantly orthophosphate, PO4, permits the use of oxygen isotope ratios of PO4 to trace enzymatic reactions and biological cycling of P in natural environments. The unique chemical properties of PO4 also make δ18O values of inorganic environmental PO4 (e.g., PO4 in soils, rocks; dissolved PO4) an ideal signature of the presence of both extant and extinct biological (enzymatic) activity as well as hydrothermal activity. Fundamental processes underlying the recording of biological signals in oxygen isotope ratios of environmental phosphate and development and application of δ18OP as a biomarker for Mars will be discussed, including characterization of δ18OP signatures of key Martian PO4 source reservoirs by analysis of Martian meteorites, and consideration of the co-evolution of δ18OP signatures with life on Mars and in terrestrial analogue systems.
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