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Distinct Distribution of Purines in CM and CR Carbonaceous ChondritesCarbonaceous meteorites contain a diverse suite of organic molecules and delivered pre biotic organic compounds, including purines and pyrimidines, to the early Earth (and other planetary bodies), seeding it with the ingredients likely required for the first genetic material. We have investigated the distribution of nucleobases in six different CM and CR type carbonaceous chondrites, including fivc Antarctic meteorites never before analyzed for nucleobases. We employed a traditional formic acid extraction protocol and a recently developed solid phase extraction method to isolate nucleobases. We analyzed these extracts by high performance liquid chromatography with UV absorbance detection and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-UV -MS/MS) targeting the five canonical RNAIDNA bases and hypoxanthine and xanthine. We detected parts-per-billion levels of nucleobases in both CM and CR meteorites. The relative abundances of the purines found in Antarctic CM and CR meteorites were clearly distinct from each other suggesting that these compounds are not terrestrial contaminants. One likely source of these purines is formation by HCN oligomerization (with other small molecules) during aqueous alteration inside the meteorite parent body. The detection of the purines adenine (A), guanine (0), hypoxanthine (HX), and xanthine (X) in carbonaceous meteorites indicates that these compounds should have been available on the early Earth prior to the origin of the first genetic material.
Document ID
20100003030
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Callahan, Michael P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Stern, Jennifer C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Glavin, Daniel P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Smith, Karen E.
(Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Martin, Mildred G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dworkin, Jason P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2010
Subject Category
Exobiology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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