Abundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu.

Organic matter in meteorites reveals clues about early Solar System chemistry and the origin of molecules important to life, but terrestrial exposure complicates interpretation. Samples returned from the B-type asteroid Bennu by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer mission enabled us to study pristine carbonaceous astromaterial without uncontrolled exposure to Earth's biosphere. Here we show that Bennu samples are volatile rich, with more carbon, nitrogen and ammonia than samples from asteroid Ryugu and most meteorites.

The Grayness of the Origin of Life.

In the search for life beyond Earth, distinguishing the living from the non-living is paramount. However, this distinction is often elusive, as the origin of life is likely a stepwise evolutionary process, not a singular event. Regardless of the favored origin of life model, an inherent "grayness" blurs the theorized threshold defining life.

Methodologies for Analyzing Soluble Organic Compounds in Extraterrestrial Samples: Amino Acids, Amines, Monocarboxylic Acids, Aldehydes, and Ketones.

Soluble organic compositions of extraterrestrial samples offer valuable insights into the prebiotic organic chemistry of the solar system. This review provides a summary of the techniques commonly used for analyzing amino acids, amines, monocarboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones in extraterrestrial samples. Here, we discuss possible effects of various experimental factors (e.

Compound-Specific Carbon Isotope Compositions of Aldehydes and Ketones in the Murchison Meteorite.

Compound-specific carbon isotope analysis (δC) of meteoritic organic compounds can be used to elucidate the abiotic chemical reactions involved in their synthesis. The soluble organic content of the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite has been extensively investigated over the years, with a focus on the origins of amino acids and the potential role of Strecker-cyanohydrin synthesis in the early solar system. Previous δC investigations have targeted α-amino acid and α-hydroxy acid Strecker products and reactant HCN; however, δC values for meteoritic aldehydes and ketones (Strecker precursors) have not yet been reported.

Draft Genome Sequences of Four Bacterial Strains Isolated from a Polymicrobial Culture of Naked (N-Type) Emiliania huxleyi CCMP1516.

Strains of Sulfitobacter spp., Erythrobacter sp., and Marinobacter sp.

Draft Genome Sequences of Seven Bacterial Strains Isolated from a Polymicrobial Culture of Coccolith-Bearing (C-Type) Emiliania huxleyi M217.

Strains of Rhodobacteraceae, Sphingomonadales, Alteromonadales, and Bacteroidetes were isolated from a polymicrobial culture of the coccolith-forming (C-type) haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi strain M217. The genomes encode genes for the production of algal growth factors and the consumption of their hosts' metabolic by-products, suggesting that the polymicrobial culture harbors many symbiotic interactions.

Origin and evolution of prebiotic organic matter as inferred from the Tagish Lake meteorite.

The complex suite of organic materials in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites probably originally formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar protoplanetary disk, but was subsequently modified in the meteorites' asteroidal parent bodies. The mechanisms of formation and modification are still very poorly understood. We carried out a systematic study of variations in the mineralogy, petrology, and soluble and insoluble organic matter in distinct fragments of the Tagish Lake meteorite.