Post on 12-Jan-2016
Joint AIRAPT-18 & HPCC-11Beijing, China -- 23-27 July 2001
High Pressure
and the Origin of Life
High Pressure
and the Origin of Life
Robert Hazen, Nabil Boctor, Jay A. Brandes, George D. Cody, Russell J. Hemley, James Scott,
Anurag Sharma, and Hatten S. Yoder, Jr. Carnegie Institution of Washington
High-Pressure and the Origin of Life
High-Pressure and the Origin of Life
• What is the nature and distribution of life at high pressures?
• What are the extreme pressure limits to cellular life?• How might biomolecules adapt to high
pressure?•What roles might pressure have played
in prebiotic organic synthesis?
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
HMS Challenger – 1870s
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
1972
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
Deep-Sea HydrothermalVents -- 1979
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
Discoveries of Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
Discoveries of Life in Crustal Rocks – 1990s
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
Discoveries of life in extreme environments – 1990s
High-Pressure LifeHigh-Pressure Life
Methane ice worms -- 1999
Life at High Pressureson other Worlds?
Life at High Pressureson other Worlds?
Deep, wet environments may exist on Mars, Europa, etc.
Pressure Limits of Life Pressure Limits of Life
Isolation and Culture of High-Pressure Microbes – 1980s
Pressure Limits of Life Pressure Limits of Life
Isolation and Culture of High-Pressure Microbes – 1990s
Pressure Limits of Life Pressure Limits of Life
Isolation and Culture of Microbes at 1 GPa – 2001
Pressure Limits of LifePressure Limits of Life
Microbes continueto reduce formateat pressures above 10,000 atmospheres
Effects of Pressure on BiomoleculesEffects of Pressure on Biomolecules
Pressure induces phase transitions in membrane-forming lipid molecules.
Effects of Pressure on BiomoleculesEffects of Pressure on BiomoleculesHigh-pressure cell membranes employModified lipids with unsaturated bonds.
Effects of Pressure on WaterEffects of Pressure on Water
Pressure dramatically alters the thermalstability and physical properties of water.
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
Gold tube reactors
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
• Hydrothermal Diamond
Anvil Cell
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisThree techniques
Flow-through Reactor
Hydrothermal F-T SynthesisHydrothermal F-T Synthesis
• Reactants:
CO2 + H2 + H2O
• Catalyst:
Iron metal• Conditions:
300oC
500 atm
24 hours
Pyruvic AcidPyruvic Acid
• Reactants:Pyruvic acid + CO2 + H2O
• Conditions:200
oC
2,000 atm2 hours
• Products:A diverse suite of organic molecules
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisResearch Strategy
Hydrothermal Organic SynthesisResearch Strategy
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
The Formation of C-C Bonds Under High-P Hydrothermal Conditions
Thomas Gold’s Hypothesis:Organic Synthesis in the Mantle
Thomas Gold’s Hypothesis:Organic Synthesis in the Mantle
Thomas Gold (1999) NY:Springer-Verlag.
ConclusionsConclusions
• Deep life is abundant and richly varied.
• Cellular life can exist at pressures exceeding 1 GPa.
• We have much to learn about the pressure adaptations of biomolecules.
• High pressure facilitates and enhances many hydrothermal organic reactions, because pressure increases the temperature stability of the aqueous phase.