Experimental investigation of the formation of formaldehyde by Hadean and Noachian impacts

This is the accepted version of the following article: [Masuda Saeka, Furukawa Yoshihiro, Kobayashi, Takamichi, Sekine Toshimori, Kakegawa Takeshi. xperimental Investigation of the Formation of Formaldehyde by Hadean and Noachian Impacts. Astrobiology 2021;21(4):413-420;.], which has now been formally published in final form at [Astrobiology] at [https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2320]. This original submission version of the article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers’ self-archiving terms and conditions.journal articl

Impact-induced phyllosilicate formation from olivine and water

Shock-recovery experiments on mixtures of olivine and water with gas (air) were performed in a previous study to demonstrate water-mineral interactions during impact events (Furukawa et al., 2007). The products of these former experiments were investigated in the present study using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction with the aim of finding evidence of aqueous alteration. Serpentine formed on the surface of shocked olivine with well-developed mosaicism. The yield of serpentine depended on the water/olivine ratio in the starting material, indicating progressive serpentinization under water-rich conditions. Comminution and mosaicism were developed in shocked olivine grains. The temperature and pressure changes of the samples during the experiments were estimated by constructing Hugoniots for mixtures of olivine and water, combined with the results of an additional fracturing experiment on a shocked container. Pressures and temperatures reached 4.6-7.2 GPa and at least 230-390 degrees C, respectively, for 0.7 mu s during in-shock compression. Post-shock temperatures reached a maximum of similar to 1300 degrees C, when the shock wave reached the gas in the sample cavity. The serpentine formed after the post-shock temperature maximum, most likely when temperatures dropped to between 200 and 400 degrees C. This is the first experiment to demonstrate the formation of phyllosilicates using heat supplied by an impact. The present results and estimations suggest that phyllosilicates could form as a result of impacts into oceans as well as by impacts on terrestrial and Martian crustal rocks, and on some asteroidal surfaces, where liquid or solid H(2)O is available. A significant amount of phyllosilicates would have formed during the late heavy bombardment of meteorites on the Hadean Earth, and such phyllosilicates might have affected the prebiotic carbon cycle. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Abiotic ribose synthesis under aqueous environments with various chemical conditions

This is the accepted version of the following article: [Ono Chinatsu, Sunami Sako, Ishii Yuka, Kim Hyo-Joong, Kakegawa Takeshi, Benner Steven A, Furukawa Yoshihiro. Abiotic Ribose Synthesis Under Aqueous Environments with Various Chemical Conditions. Astrobiology 2024;24(5):489-497;.], which has now been formally published in final form at Astorobiology at [https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2023.0071]. This original submission version of the article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers’ self-archiving terms and conditions.journal articl

Phototrophic Methane Oxidation in a Member of the Chloroflexi Phylum

Biological methane cycling plays an important role in Earth's climate and the global carbon cycle, with biological methane oxidation (methanotrophy) modulating methane release from numerous environments including soils, sediments, and water columns. Methanotrophy is typically coupled to aerobic respiration or anaerobically via the reduction of sulfate, nitrate, or metal oxides, and while the possibility of coupling methane oxidation to phototrophy (photomethanotrophy) has been proposed, no organism has ever been described that is capable of this metabolism. Here we described a new bacterial genome from a member of the Chloroflexi phylum--termed here Candidatus Chlorolinea photomethanotrophicum--with cooccurring methanotrophy and phototrophy pathways, suggesting a novel link between these two metabolisms. Recovered as a metagenome-assembled genome from microbial mats in an iron-rich hot spring in Japan, Ca. "C. photomethanotrophicum" forms a new lineage within the Chloroflexi phylum and expands the known metabolic diversity of this already diverse clade. Ca. "C. photomethanotrophicum" appears to be metabolically versatile, capable of phototrophy (via a Type 2 reaction center), aerobic respiration, nitrite reduction, oxidation of methane and carbon monoxide, and potentially carbon fixation via a novel pathway composed of hybridized components of the serine cycle and the 3-hydroxypropionate bicycle. The biochemical network of this organism is constructed from components from multiple organisms and pathways, further demonstrating the modular nature of metabolic machinery and the ecological and evolutionary importance of horizontal gene transfer in the establishment of novel pathways

Phototrophic Methane Oxidation in a Member of the Chloroflexi Phylum

Biological methane cycling plays an important role in Earth's climate and the global carbon cycle, with biological methane oxidation (methanotrophy) modulating methane release from numerous environments including soils, sediments, and water columns. Methanotrophy is typically coupled to aerobic respiration or anaerobically via the reduction of sulfate, nitrate, or metal oxides, and while the possibility of coupling methane oxidation to phototrophy (photomethanotrophy) has been proposed, no organism has ever been described that is capable of this metabolism. Here we described a new bacterial genome from a member of the Chloroflexi phylum--termed here Candidatus Chlorolinea photomethanotrophicum--with cooccurring methanotrophy and phototrophy pathways, suggesting a novel link between these two metabolisms. Recovered as a metagenome-assembled genome from microbial mats in an iron-rich hot spring in Japan, Ca. "C. photomethanotrophicum" forms a new lineage within the Chloroflexi phylum and expands the known metabolic diversity of this already diverse clade. Ca. "C. photomethanotrophicum" appears to be metabolically versatile, capable of phototrophy (via a Type 2 reaction center), aerobic respiration, nitrite reduction, oxidation of methane and carbon monoxide, and potentially carbon fixation via a novel pathway composed of hybridized components of the serine cycle and the 3-hydroxypropionate bicycle. The biochemical network of this organism is constructed from components from multiple organisms and pathways, further demonstrating the modular nature of metabolic machinery and the ecological and evolutionary importance of horizontal gene transfer in the establishment of novel pathways