Mineral Mediated Prebiotic Chemistry to Address the Origin of Metabolism
When
Dr. Jessica Weber
Research Scientist
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Life on Earth had to evolve within a geologic environment. By understanding prebiotic organic chemistry under varied early Earth conditions is key for understanding pathways life originated on Earth and how life could emerge on other worlds. Exploring chemical reaction networks in laboratory analog systems are also critical for understanding and differentiating between abiotic and biotic reactions as this can provide context for returned mission data and samples, ultimately facilitating life detection across the solar system. Herein, we explore the stability and reactivity of 2 metabolic cofactors: NAD and ubiquinone (1,4 – benzoquinone used as an experimental analog) under early Earth conditions with an FeS mineral. The results of this work can be useful for exploring abiotic/prebiotic chemistry under a variety of conditions, including those analogous to early Earth, Mars, and ocean worlds.