DOI: 10.1126/science.285.5435.1889. Iron Isotope Biosignatures

10.1126/science.285.5435.1889

Crossref journal-article

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Science (221)

Abstract

The 56 Fe/ 54 Fe of Fe-bearing phases precipitated in sedimentary environments varies by 2.5 per mil (δ 56 Fe values of +0.9 to −1.6 per mil). In contrast, the 56 Fe/ 54 Fe of Fe-bearing phases in igneous rocks from Earth and the moon does not vary measurably (δ 56 Fe = 0.0 ± 0.3 per mil). Experiments with dissimilatory Fe-reducing bacteria of the genus Shewanella algae grown on a ferrihydrite substrate indicate that the δ 56 Fe of ferrous Fe in solution is isotopically lighter than the ferrihydrite substrate by 1.3 per mil. Therefore, the range in δ 56 Fe values of sedimentary rocks may reflect biogenic fractionation, and the isotopic composition of Fe may be used to trace the distribution of microorganisms in modern and ancient Earth.

Bibliography

Beard, B. L., Johnson, C. M., Cox, L., Sun, H., Nealson, K. H., & Aguilar, C. (1999). Iron Isotope Biosignatures. Science, 285(5435), 1889â1892.

Authors 6

Brian L. Beard (first)
Clark M. Johnson (additional)
Lea Cox (additional)
Henry Sun (additional)
Kenneth H. Nealson (additional)
Carmen Aguilar (additional)

References 20 Referenced 330

I. Friedman and J. R. O'Neil U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 440KK (1977)
M. Schidlowski J. M. Hayes I. R. Kaplan in Earth's Earliest Biosphere: Its Origins and Evolution J. W. Schopf Ed. (Princeton Univ. Press Princeton NJ 1983) pp. 149-186.
K. Caldeira M. R. Rampino T. Volk J. C. Zachos in Extinction Events in Earth History E. G. Kaufman and O. H. Walliser Eds. (Springer-Verlag Berlin 1990) pp. 333–345. (10.1007/BFb0011156)
E. Baker and E. H. Morgan in Iron Metabolism in Health and Disease J. H. Brock J. W. Halliday M. J. Pippard L. W. Powell Eds. (Saunders Philadelphia PA 1994) pp. 63–96.
Bullen T. D., McMahon P. M., Min. Mag. 62A, 255 (1998). (10.1180/minmag.1998.62A.1.135) / Min. Mag. by Bullen T. D. (1998)
Marechal C. N., Telouk P., Albarede F., Chem. Geol. 156, 251 (1999). (10.1016/S0009-2541(98)00191-0) / Chem. Geol. by Marechal C. N. (1999)
P. R. Dixon et al. in Water Rock Interaction vol. 2 Moderate and High Temperature Environments Y. K. Kharaka and A. S. Maest Eds. (Balkema. Rotterdam Netherlands 1992) pp. 915–918.
B. L. Beard and C. M. Johnson Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta in press.
Johnson C. M., Beard B. L., Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Proc. 63, 1653 (1999). / Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Proc. by Johnson C. M. (1999)
A mixed double spike composed of 7.8% 58 Fe and 92.2% 54 Fe was added to an aliquot of each analyzed sample to normalize the measured iron isotope ratios for instrumental mass bias.
U.W.-Milwaukee experiments were performed in a Coy Laboratory anaerobic hood; ferrihydrite was produced according to the method of C.-F. Lin and M. Benjamin [ Environ. Sci. Technol. 24 126 (1990)]; LM growth medium is 0.1 g of peptone 0.2 g of yeast extract and 1 g of NaCl per liter of H 2 O [
Myers C. R., Myers J. M., J. Appl. Bacteriol. 76, 253 (1993); (10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb01624.x) / J. Appl. Bacteriol. by Myers C. R. (1993)
; B. Little et al. in CORROSION/97 (Paper No. 215 NACE International Houston TX 1997). Each experiment was run with 2 × 10 7 cells/ml.
LB growth medium is 10 g of tryptone 5 g of yeast extract and 1 g of NaCl per liter of H 2 O. Ferrihydrite was made according to the method of U. Schwertmann and R. M. Cornell [ Iron Oxides in the Laboratory: Preparation and Characterization (V.C.H. New York 1991)]. Each experiment was run in 1-liter polycarbonate bottles filled with the LB growth media 0.5 g of ferrihydrite and 5 × 10 6 cells/ml.
Fe(II) contents were determined with the ferrozine technique [
Stookey L. C., Anal. Chem. 42, 779 (1970); (10.1021/ac60289a016) / Anal. Chem. by Stookey L. C. (1970)
]. Ferrozine (1 g/liter) in Hepes buffer (50 mM) at pH 7 was used. A 0.1-ml sample filtered through a 0.2-μm syringe filter was mixed with 5 ml of the ferrozine solution. After about 5 min the absorbance was measured at 562 nm on a spectrophotometer which had been calibrated with Fe(II) solutions.
Bullen T. D., McMahon P. M., Eos 78, S173 (1997). / Eos by Bullen T. D. (1997)
Nealson K. H., Myers C. R., Am. J. Sci. 290A, 35 (1990). / Am. J. Sci. by Nealson K. H. (1990)
This work was supported by NASA grant NAG5-6342 NSF grant OPP-9713968 and the NASA Astrobiology Institute. We thank P. Brown and C. Bowser for donating samples for Fe isotope analysis.

Dates

Type	When
Created	23 years, 1 month ago (July 27, 2002, 5:37 a.m.)
Deposited	1 year, 7 months ago (Jan. 13, 2024, 3:50 a.m.)
Indexed	1 month, 2 weeks ago (July 12, 2025, 6:55 p.m.)
Issued	25 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 17, 1999)
Published	25 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 17, 1999)
Published Print	25 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 17, 1999)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Beard_1999, title={Iron Isotope Biosignatures}, volume={285}, ISSN={1095-9203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5435.1889}, DOI={10.1126/science.285.5435.1889}, number={5435}, journal={Science}, publisher={American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}, author={Beard, Brian L. and Johnson, Clark M. and Cox, Lea and Sun, Henry and Nealson, Kenneth H. and Aguilar, Carmen}, year={1999}, month=sep, pages={1889–1892} }

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