Sulphur isotopes and the search for life: strategies for identifying sulphur metabolisms in the rock record and beyond

Geobiology
David T JohnstonD E Canfield

Abstract

The search for life can only be as successful as our understanding of the tools we use to search for it. Here we present new sulphur isotope data (32S, 33S, 34S, 36S) from a variety of modern marine environments and use these observations, along with previously published work, to contribute to this search. Specifically, we use these new data to gain a sense of life's influences on the sulphur isotope record and to distinguish these biologically influenced signatures from their non-biological counterparts. This treatment extends sulphur isotope analyses beyond traditional (34S/32S) measures and employs trace isotope relationships (33S/32S, 36S/32S), as the inclusion of these isotopes provides unique information about biology and its role in the sulphur cycle through time. In the current study we compare and contrast isotope effects produced by sulphur-utilizing microorganisms (experimental), modern and ancient sedimentary records (observational) and non-biological reactions (theoretical). With our collective search for life now extending to neighbouring planets, we present this study as a first step towards more fully understanding the capability of the sulphur isotope system as a viable tool for life detection, both on Earth an...Continue Reading

References

Nov 20, 1998·Science·A PaytanM H Thiemens
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Sep 7, 2001·Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta·K S Habicht, D E Canfield
Mar 8, 2002·Nature·J William SchopfAndrew D Czaja
Dec 21, 2002·Science·Kirsten S HabichtDonald E Canfield
Jan 9, 2004·Nature·A BekkerN J Beukes
Dec 3, 2005·Science·David T JohnstonDonald E Canfield
Aug 25, 2006·Nature·Hiroshi OhmotoBruce E Taylor
Sep 18, 2007·Science·Pascal PhilippotMartin J Van Kranendonk
Sep 29, 2007·Science·Alan J KaufmanRoger Buick

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Citations

Aug 3, 2010·Nature Reviews. Microbiology·Hans-Curt Flemming, Jost Wingender
Feb 7, 2012·Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies·Harald StraussUlrike Westernströer
Mar 13, 2016·Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry : RCM·David Au YangPierre Cartigny
Apr 21, 2012·Environmental Microbiology·Raoul-Marie CoutureAntoine Danchin
Apr 30, 2015·Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies·Harald StraussBarbara M A Teichert

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