Molecular assembly indices of mineral heteropolyanions: some abiotic molecules are as complex as large biomolecules-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Molecular assembly indices of mineral heteropolyanions: some abiotic molecules are as complex as large biomolecules

Published:2024-02 Issue:211 Volume:21 Page:
ISSN:1742-5662
Container-title:Journal of The Royal Society Interface
language:en
Short-container-title:J. R. Soc. Interface.

Author:

Hazen Robert M.¹^ORCID,Burns Peter C.²³,Cleaves H. James¹⁴⁵⁶,Downs Robert T.⁷,Krivovichev Sergey V.⁸⁹,Wong Michael L.¹¹⁰

Affiliation:

1. Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA

2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

4. Earth Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan

5. Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Seattle, WA 98104, USA

6. Department of Chemistry, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA

7. Geological Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

8. Department of Crystallography, Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia

9. Nanomaterials Research Centre, Kola Science Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmma 14, Apatity 184209, Russia

10. Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Abstract

Molecular assembly indices, which measure the number of unique sequential steps theoretically required to construct a three-dimensional molecule from its constituent atomic bonds, have been proposed as potential biosignatures. A central hypothesis of assembly theory is that any molecule with an assembly index ≥15 found in significant local concentrations represents an unambiguous sign of life. We show that abiotic molecule-like heteropolyanions, which assemble in aqueous solution as precursors to some mineral crystals, range in molecular assembly indices from 2 for H 2 CO 3 or Si(OH) 4 groups to as large as 21 for the most complex known molecule-like subunits in the rare minerals ewingite and ilmajokite. Therefore, values of molecular assembly indices ≥15 do not represent unambiguous biosignatures.

Funder

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.

Deep-time Digital Earth Program

Carnegie Institution for Science

John Templeton Foundation

NASA

Russian Science Foundation

Space Telescope Science Institute

NASA Hubble Fellowship

Publisher

The Royal Society

Link

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsif.2023.0632

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