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Evidencia isotópica para la reducción de sulfato microbiano en la era Arqueana temprana
Y Shen1, R Buick, D E Canfield
1Danish Center for Earth System Science, and Institute of Biology, Odense University, SDU. shen@biology.ou.dk
Nature
|March 10, 2001
Resumen
Se han encontrado microbios reductores de sulfato, cruciales para el ciclo del azufre, en rocas de 3.47 mil millones de años de antigüedad. Este descubrimiento proporciona evidencia directa de la reducción microbiana temprana del sulfato, empujando hacia atrás su registro geológico en más de 750 millones de años.
Área de la Ciencia:
- La geoquímica es la geoquímica.
- Microbiología Microbiología.
- Paleontología Paleontología.
Sus antecedentes:
- Los microbios reductores de sulfato juegan un papel clave en el ciclo global del azufre.
- La línea de tiempo evolutiva de estos antiguos organismos sigue siendo incierta.
- La fraccionamiento isotópico del azufre proporciona evidencia para la reducción microbiana del sulfato.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Para investigar el registro geológico de la reducción de sulfato microbiano.
- Determinar la evidencia más antigua de reducción de sulfato microbiano en la historia de la Tierra.
- Para analizar isótopos de azufre en muestras antiguas de barita.
Principales métodos:
- Análisis microscópico de las inclusiones de sulfuro en la barita.
- Análisis de la relación de isótopos de azufre (34S/32S) de los sulfuros y la barita.
- Datamiento geoquímico de muestras de barita del Polo Norte, Australia.
Principales resultados:
- Se identificaron sulfuros microscópicos con fraccionamiento isotópico significativo (promedio 11.6/1000, máximo 21.1/1000) en baritas de 3,47 años de antigüedad.
- Estas fraccionamientos son indicativos de la reducción del sulfato microbiano.
- Los hallazgos amplían la evidencia geológica de la reducción de sulfato microbiano hasta hace 3.47 mil millones de años.
Conclusiones:
- La evidencia directa de la reducción de sulfato microbiano se remonta al menos a hace 3.47 mil millones de años.
- Este estudio calibra un nodo profundo en el árbol de la vida, lo que indica una vía metabólica específica temprana.
- Los hallazgos avanzan significativamente en nuestra comprensión de la vida microbiana temprana y los ciclos biogeoquímicos en la Tierra antigua.
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