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Primordial aqueous alteration recorded in water-soluble organic molecules from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu.

Yoshinori TakanoHiroshi NaraokaJason P DworkinToshiki KogaKazunori SasakiHajime SatoYasuhiro ObaNanako O OgawaToshihiro YoshimuraKenji HamaseNaohiko OhkouchiEric T ParkerJosé C AponteDaniel P GlavinYoshihiro FurukawaJunken AokiKuniyuki KanoShin-Ichiro M NomuraFrancois-Regis Orthous-DaunayPhilippe Schmitt-Kopplinnull nullHisayoshi YurimotoTomoki NakamuraTakaaki NoguchiRyuji OkazakiHikaru YabutaKanako SakamotoToru YadaMasahiro NishimuraAiko NakatoAkiko MiyazakiKasumi YogataMasanao AbeTatsuaki OkadaTomohiro UsuiMakoto YoshikawaTakanao SaikiSatoshi TanakaFuyuto TeruiSatoru NakazawaSei'ichiro WatanabeYuichi TsudaShogo Tachibana
Published in: Nature communications (2024)
We report primordial aqueous alteration signatures in water-soluble organic molecules from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft of JAXA. Newly identified low-molecular-weight hydroxy acids (HO-R-COOH) and dicarboxylic acids (HOOC-R-COOH), such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, glyceric acid, oxalic acid, and succinic acid, are predominant in samples from the two touchdown locations at Ryugu. The quantitative and qualitative profiles for the hydrophilic molecules between the two sampling locations shows similar trends within the order of ppb (parts per billion) to ppm (parts per million). A wide variety of structural isomers, including α- and β-hydroxy acids, are observed among the hydrophilic molecules. We also identify pyruvic acid and dihydroxy and tricarboxylic acids, which are biochemically important intermediates relevant to molecular evolution, such as the primordial TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle. Here, we find evidence that the asteroid Ryugu samples underwent substantial aqueous alteration, as revealed by the presence of malonic acid during keto-enol tautomerism in the dicarboxylic acid profile. The comprehensive data suggest the presence of a series for water-soluble organic molecules in the regolith of Ryugu and evidence of signatures in coevolutionary aqueous alteration between water and organics in this carbonaceous asteroid.
Keyphrases
  • water soluble
  • machine learning
  • dna methylation
  • lactic acid
  • gene expression
  • electronic health record
  • signaling pathway
  • big data
  • single molecule
  • solid phase extraction