Abstract-Amino acid analyses of the Antarctic CM2 chondrites Allan Hills (ALH) 83100 and Lewis Cliff (LEW) 90500 using liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ToF-MS) coupled with UV fluorescence detection revealed that these carbonaceous meteorites contain a suite of indigenous amino acids not present in Antarctic ice. Several amino acids were detected in ALH 83100, including glycine, alanine, β-alanine, γ-amino-n-butyric acid (γ-ABA), and α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) with concentrations ranging from 250 to 340 parts per billion (ppb). In contrast to ALH 83100, the CM2 meteorites LEW 90500 and Murchison had a much higher total abundance of these amino acids (440-3200 ppb). In addition, ALH 83100 was found to have lower abundances of the α-dialkyl amino acids AIB and isovaline than LEW 90500 and Murchison. There are three possible explanations for the depleted amino acid content in ALH 83100: 1) amino acid leaching from ALH 83100 during exposure to Antarctic ice meltwater, 2) a higher degree of aqueous alteration on the ALH 83100 parent body, or 3) ALH 83100 originated on a chemically distinct parent body from the other two CM2 meteorites. The high relative abundance of ε-amino-n-caproic acid (EACA) in the ALH 83100 meteorite as well as the Antarctic ice indicates that Nylon-6 contamination from the Antarctic sample storage bags may have occurred during collection.

Carbon-rich meteorites, carbonaceous chondrites, contain many biologically relevant organic molecules and delivered prebiotic material to the young Earth. We present compound-specific carbon isotope data indicating that measured purine and pyrimidine compounds are indigenous components of the Murchison meteorite. Carbon isotope ratios for uracil and xanthine of delta13C=+44.5per mil and +37.7per mil, respectively, indicate a non-terrestrial origin for these compounds. These new results demonstrate that organic compounds, which are components of the genetic code in modern biochemistry, were already present in the early solar system and may have played a key role in life's origin.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Abstract-CR chondrites are among the most primitive meteorites. In this paper, we report the first measurements of amino acids in Antarctic CR meteorites. Three CRs, Elephant Moraine (EET) 92042, Graves Nunataks (GRA) 95229, and Grosvenor Mountains (GRO) 95577, were analyzed for their amino acid content using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Our data show that EET 92042 and GRA 95229 are the most amino acid-rich chondrites ever analyzed, with total amino acid concentrations ranging from 180 ppm to 249 ppm. The most abundant amino acids present in the EET 92042 and GRA 95229 meteorites are the α-amino acids glycine, isovaline, α-aminoisobutyric acid (α-AIB), and alanine, with δ 13 C values ranging from +31.6‰ to +50.5‰. The carbon isotope results together with racemic enantiomeric ratios determined for most amino acids strongly indicate an extraterrestrial origin for these compounds. Compared to Elephant Moraine (EET) 92042 and GRA 95229, the more aqueously altered GRO 95577 is depleted in amino acids. In both CRs and CMs, the absolute amino acid abundances appear to be related to the degree of aqueous alteration in their parent bodies. In addition, the relative abundances of α-AIB and β-alanine in the Antarctic CRs also appear to depend on the degree of aqueous alteration.

Comets are known to harbour simple ices and the organic precursors of the building blocks of proteins-amino acids-that are essential to life. Indeed, glycine, the simplest amino acid, was recently confirmed to be present on comet 81P/Wild-2 from samples returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft. Impacts of icy bodies (such as comets) onto rocky surfaces, and, equally, impacts of rocky bodies onto icy surfaces (such as the jovian and saturnian satellites), could have been responsible for the manufacture of these complex organic molecules through a process of shock synthesis. Here we present laboratory experiments in which we shocked ice mixtures analogous to those found in a comet with a steel projectile fired at high velocities in a light gas gun to test whether amino acids could be produced. We found that the hypervelocity impact shock of a typical comet ice mixture produced several amino acids after hydrolysis. These include equal amounts of D-and L-alanine, and the non-protein amino acids α-aminoisobutyric acid and isovaline as well as their precursors. Our findings suggest a pathway for the synthetic production of the components of proteins within our Solar System, and thus a potential pathway towards life through icy impacts.

Abstract-The Paris meteorite is one of the most primitive carbonaceous chondrites. It is reported to be the least aqueously altered CM chondrite, and to have experienced only weak thermal metamorphism. We have analyzed for the first time the amino acid and hydrocarbon contents of this pristine meteorite by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). When plotting the relative amino acids abundances of several CM chondrites according to the increasing hydrothermal scale (petrologic subtypes), from the CM2.7/2.8 Paris to the CM2.0 MET 01070, Paris has the lowest relative abundance of b-alanine/ glycine (0.15), which fits with the relative abundances of b-alanine/glycine increasing with increasing aqueous alteration for CM chondrites. These results confirm the influence of aqueous alteration on the amino acid abundances and distribution. The amino acid analysis shows that the isovaline detected in this meteorite is racemic (D/L = 0.99 AE 0.08; L-enantiomer excess = 0.35 AE 0.5%; corrected D/L = 1.03; corrected L-enantiomer excess = À1.4 AE 2.6%). The identified hydrocarbons show that Paris has n-alkanes ranging from C 16 to C 25 and 3-to 5-ring nonalkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The lack of alkylated PAHs in Paris seems to be also related to this low degree of aqueous alteration on its parent body. The extraterrestrial hydrocarbon content, suggested by the absence of any biomarker, may well have a presolar origin. The chemistry of the Paris meteorite may thus be closely related to the early stages of the solar nebula with a contribution from interstellar (molecular cloud) precursors.

Abstract-We have analyzed Shi∫r 033, a CR chondrite from the Omani desert, using several different analytical techniques designed to study the degree of terrestrial alteration of this meteorite and also its petrologic classification. Bulk chemical analyses (including organic carbon and mean total H 2 O content) are consistent with a CR classification. Additionally, oxygen isotope analysis on a bulk sample indicates that Shi∫r 033 is of type CR2. Amino acid analysis using liquid chromatography with UV fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD) and liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ToF-MS) show that the absolute and the relative amino acid content of Shi∫r 033 is distinct from other carbonaceous chondrites. Oxygen isotope analysis of a phyllosilicate-rich dark inclusion shows that this inclusion is closer to CV3 or CO3 chondrites. The effects of terrestrial weathering in Shi∫r 033 are evident from the dark inclusion carbon isotopic data, bulk chemistry (through the elevated concentrations of Sr and Ba), and amino acid data, which suggests extensive amino acid contamination of the meteorite from the fall site soil. Nevertheless, Shi∫r 033 contains a small fraction of indigenous components, as indicated by the presence of the extraterrestrial amino acid α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) that was not detected in the Shi∫r soils. Finally, the terrestrial age of Shi∫r 033 was determined and is discussed in the context of high levels of contamination.

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Influence of mineralogy on the preservation of amino acids under simulated Mars conditions journaltitle: Icarus articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.05.029 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc

Abstract-CM2 carbonaceous chondrites are the most primitive material present in the solar system, and some of their subtypes, the CM and CI chondrites, contain up to 2 wt% of organic carbon. The CM2 carbonaceous chondrites contain a wide variety of complex amino acids, while the CI1 meteorites Orgueil and Ivuna display a much simpler composition, with only glycine and β-alanine present in significant abundances. CM1 carbonaceous chondrites show a higher degree of aqueous alteration than CM2 types and therefore provide an important link between the CM2 and CI1 carbonaceous chondrites. Relative amino acid concentrations have been shown to be indicative for parent body processes with respect to the formation of this class of compounds. In order to understand the relationship of the amino acid composition between these three types of meteorites, we have analyzed for the first time three Antarctic CM1 chondrites, Meteorite Hills (MET) 01070, Allan Hills (ALH) 88045, and LaPaz Icefield (LAP) 02277, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD). The concentrations of the eight most abundant amino acids in these meteorites were compared to those of the CM2s Murchison, Murray, Mighei, Lewis Cliff (LEW) 90500, ALH 83100, as well as the CI1s Orgueil and Ivuna. The total amino acid concentration in CM1 carbonaceous chondrites was found to be much lower than the average of the CM2s. Relative amino acid abundances were compared in order to identify synthetic relationships between the amino acid compositions in these meteorite classes. Our data support the hypothesis that amino acids in CM-and CI-type meteorites were synthesized under different physical and chemical conditions and may best be explained with differences in the abundances of precursor compounds in the source regions of their parent bodies in combination with the decomposition of amino acids during extended aqueous alteration.