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Direct evidence for eoarchean iron metabolism?

Tue Hassenkam1, Esther H R Tsai2,3, Henning O Sørensen4,5

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Ancient Isua rocks contain carbonaceous compounds suggesting early life. New analysis reveals iron-rich organic material, the oldest evidence of organic iron complexes, supporting a biogenic origin for these >3,700-million-year-old materials.

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Area of Science:

  • Geochemistry
  • Paleobiology
  • Mineralogy

Background:

  • Metasedimentary rocks from Isua, West Greenland, over 3,700 million years old, contain carbonaceous compounds.
  • Previous studies suggested a biogenic origin for this ancient carbonaceous material.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the nature of early life forms that generated carbonaceous material in Isua rocks.
  • To find new insights into the characteristics of ancient biological material.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized non-destructive ptychographic X-ray nanotomography (PXCT) to study material within quartz grains inside garnet porphyroblasts.
  • Correlated 3D electron density maps from PXCT with X-ray fluorescence tomography and micro-Raman spectroscopy.

Main Results:

  • Identified disordered carbon material encasing iron-rich carbonaceous domains within inclusions.
  • These findings corroborate earlier claims of biogenic origins for the Isua carbonaceous material.
  • Discovered the oldest evidence for organic iron complexes in the geologic record, comparable to extant organisms.

Conclusions:

  • The studied material is consistent with metamorphosed biological relics containing high iron/carbon ratios.
  • The findings support the biogenic origin of Isua carbonaceous material and suggest early life utilized iron.
  • Provides evidence for metabolic iron fractionation in ancient life forms.