Analytical Chemistry in Astrobiology

Seaton, Kenneth Marshall; Cable, Morgan L.; Stockton, Amanda M.

doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.0c04271

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 189 publications

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“…Consequently, key objectives are to identify and quantify the abundance and distribution of organic molecules of planetary bodies such as Mars, Europa, and Enceladus, where signatures of past or present life could exist. In situ robotic missions accompanied by chemical analysis instruments will play a pivotal role in this endeavor (Seaton et al, 2021)-because selecting samples with the highest probability of containing biosignatures with limited prior knowledge, maintaining pristineness, and returning them to Earth is currently not feasible. However, in situ detection of organic biosignatures in the space environment remains a scientific and technical challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous review papers have primarily covered chemical analysis instruments previously used in spaceflight applications. Seaton et al (2021), Seaton et al (2022) have summarized analytical techniques and instruments used in previous and planned spaceflight missions; including those used for organic biosignature detection, inorganic analysis, and remote sensing; but also covered instruments used in space probes in addition to lander missions. Poinot and Geffroy-Rodier (2015) have provided a detailed overview of previous spaceflight-GC instruments used for organic detection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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In situ organic biosignature detection techniques for space applications

Abrahamsson

Kanik

2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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The search for life in Solar System bodies such as Mars and Ocean Worlds (e.g., Europa and Enceladus) is an ongoing and high-priority endeavor in space science, even ∼ five decades after the first life detection mission at Mars performed by the twin Viking landers. However, the in situ detection of biosignatures remains highly challenging, both scientifically and technically. New instruments are being developed for detecting extinct or extant life on Mars and Ocean Worlds due to new technology and fabrication techniques. These instruments are becoming increasingly capable of both detecting and identifying in situ organic biosignatures that are indicative of life and will play a pivotal role in the search for evidence of life through robotic lander missions. This review article gives an overview of techniques used for space missions (gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy), the further ongoing developments of these techniques, and ion mobility spectrometry. In addition, current developments of techniques used in the next-generation instruments for organic biosignature detection are reviewed; these include capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, biosensors (primarily immunoassays), and nanopore sensing; whereas microscopy, biological assays, and isotope analysis are beyond the scope of this paper and are not covered.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ organic biosignature detection techniques for space applications

Abrahamsson

Kanik

2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…These were followed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, or fluorescence spectroscopy. 5,6 More recently, liquid-based techniques have been developed, like capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, nanopores, and nanogaps that seek for a lower detection limit and for broadening the range of target biosignatures. 6 The use of antibody-based biosensors has also been proven to be effective for astrobiological applications.…”

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confidence: 99%

Immunoanalytical Detection of Conserved Peptides: Refining the Universe of Biomarker Targets in Planetary Exploration

Mustieles-del-Ser,

Ruano-Gallego,

Parro

2024

Anal. Chem.

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Ancient peptides are remnants of early biochemistry that continue to play pivotal roles in current proteins. They are simple molecules yet complex enough to exhibit independent functions, being products of an evolved biochemistry at the interface of life and nonlife. Their adsorption to minerals may contribute to their stabilization and preservation over time. To investigate the feasibility of conserved peptide sequences and structures as target biomarkers for the search for life on Mars or other planetary bodies, we conducted a bioinformatics selection of well-conserved ancient peptides and produced polyclonal antibodies for their detection using fluorescence microarray immunoassays. Additionally, we explored how adsorbing peptides to Mars-representative minerals to form organomineral complexes could affect their immunological detection. The results demonstrated that the selected peptides exhibited autonomous folding, with some of them regaining their structure, even after denaturation. Furthermore, their cognate antibodies detected their conformational features regardless of amino acid sequences, thereby broadening the spectrum of target peptide sequences. While certain antibodies displayed unspecific binding to bare minerals, we validated that peptide–mineral complexes can be detected using sandwich immunoassays, as confirmed through desorption and competitive assays. Consequently, we conclude that the diversity of peptide sequences and structures suitable for use as target biomarkers in astrobiology can be constrained to a few well conserved sets, and they can be detected even if they are adsorbed in organomineral complexes.

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“…The search for in situ molecular fingerprints of life requires robust, sensitive, reliable, and space-suitable analytical techniques. So far, and due to mass and other space-related constraints, only gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) together with several spectroscopic techniques have been used in planetary exploration (for a review, see ref ( 8 )). Other technologies based on the analysis of liquid solutions/suspensions, such as capillary electrophoresis, 9 antibody-based biosensor chips (reviewed in ref ( 8 )), or nanopore-based molecular analysis, 10 are being developed to increase the variety and complexity of life-predictive target molecules to be detected.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, and due to mass and other space-related constraints, only gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) together with several spectroscopic techniques have been used in planetary exploration (for a review, see ref ( 8 )). Other technologies based on the analysis of liquid solutions/suspensions, such as capillary electrophoresis, 9 antibody-based biosensor chips (reviewed in ref ( 8 )), or nanopore-based molecular analysis, 10 are being developed to increase the variety and complexity of life-predictive target molecules to be detected. Antibody-based biosensor chips complement the techniques discussed above, with benefits such as the feasibility of multiple internal calibration curves, multiple negative and positive controls, a wide range of molecular size targets (from amino acids to cells), and easy readable results (reviewed in ref ( 11 )).…”

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confidence: 99%

Immunoanalytical Approach for Detecting and Identifying Ancestral Peptide Biomarkers in Early Earth Analogue Environments

et al. 2023

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Several mass spectrometry and spectroscopic techniques have been used in the search for molecular biomarkers on Mars. A major constraint is their capability to detect and identify large and complex compounds such as peptides or other biopolymers. Multiplex immunoassays can detect these compounds, but antibodies must be produced for a large number of sequence-dependent molecular targets. Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction (ASR) followed by protein “resurrection” in the lab can help to narrow the selection of targets. Herein, we propose an immunoanalytical method to identify ancient and universally conserved protein/peptide sequences as targets for identifying ancestral biomarkers in nature. We have developed, tested, and validated this approach by producing antibodies to eight previously described ancestral resurrected proteins (three β-lactamases, three thioredoxins, one Elongation Factor Tu, and one RuBisCO, all of them theoretically dated as Precambrian), and used them as a proxy to search for any potential feature of them that could be present in current natural environments. By fluorescent sandwich microarray immunoassays (FSMI), we have detected positive immunoreactions with antibodies to the oldest β-lactamase and thioredoxin proteins (ca. 4 Ga) in samples from a hydrothermal environment. Fine epitope mapping and inhibitory immunoassays allowed the identification of well-conserved epitope peptide sequences that resulted from ASR and were present in the sample. We corroborated these results by metagenomic sequencing and found several genes encoding analogue proteins with significant matches to the peptide epitopes identified with the antibodies. The results demonstrated that peptides inferred from ASR studies have true counterpart analogues in Nature, which validates and strengthens the well-known ASR/protein resurrection technique and our immunoanalytical approach for investigating ancient environments and metabolisms on Earth and elsewhere.

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Analytical Chemistry in Astrobiology

Cited by 9 publications

References 189 publications

In situ organic biosignature detection techniques for space applications

In situ organic biosignature detection techniques for space applications

Immunoanalytical Detection of Conserved Peptides: Refining the Universe of Biomarker Targets in Planetary Exploration

Immunoanalytical Approach for Detecting and Identifying Ancestral Peptide Biomarkers in Early Earth Analogue Environments

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