Biology – Quantitative Biology – Biomolecules
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.3002n&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #30.02
Biology
Quantitative Biology
Biomolecules
Scientific paper
Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a world rich in the "stuff of life". Reactions occurring in its dense nitrogen-methane atmosphere produce a wide variety of organic molecules, which subsequently rain down onto its surface. Water - thought to be another important ingredient for life - is likewise abundant on Titan. Theoretical models of Titan's formation predict that its interior consists of an ice I layer several tens of kilometers thick overlying a liquid ammonia-rich water layer several hundred kilometers thick (Tobie et al., 2005). Though its surface temperature of 94K dictates that Titan is on average too cold for liquid water to persist at its surface, melting caused by impacts and/or cryovolcanism may lead to its episodic availability. Impact melt pools on Titan would likely remain liquid for 102 - 104 years before freezing (O'Brien et al., 2005). The combination of complex organic molecules and transient locales of liquid water make Titan an interesting natural laboratory for studying prebiotic chemistry.
In this work, we sought to determine what biomolecules might be formed under conditions analogous to those found in transient liquid water environments on Titan. We hydrolyzed Titan organic haze analogues, or "tholins", in 13 wt. % ammonia-water at 253K and 293K for a year. Using a combination of high resolution mass spectroscopy and tandem mass spectroscopy fragmentation techniques, four amino acids were identified in the hydrolyzed tholin sample. These four species have been assigned as the amino acids asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid. This represents the first detection of biologically relevant molecules created under conditions similar to those found in impact melt pools and cryolavas on Titan. Future missions to Titan should therefore carry instrumentation capable of detecting amino acids and other prebiotically relevant molecules on its surface
This work was supported by the NASA Exobiology Program.
Neish Catherine
Smith Matthew A.
Somogyi Andrea
No associations
LandOfFree
Titan's Primordial Soup: Formation of Amino Acids via Low Temperature Hydrolysis of Tholins does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Titan's Primordial Soup: Formation of Amino Acids via Low Temperature Hydrolysis of Tholins, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Titan's Primordial Soup: Formation of Amino Acids via Low Temperature Hydrolysis of Tholins will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1332921