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Processing of meteoritic organic materials as a possible analog of early molecular evolution in planetary environments
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Edited* by Jonathan I. Lunine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and approved August 2, 2013 (received for review May 14, 2013)

Significance
The data reported here suggest a far larger availability of meteoritic organic materials for planetary environments than previously assumed and that molecular evolution on the early Earth could have benefited from accretion of carbonaceous meteorites both directly with soluble compounds and, for a more protracted time, through alteration, processing, and release from their insoluble organic materials.
Abstract
The composition of the Sutter’s Mill meteorite insoluble organic material was studied both in toto by solid-state NMR spectroscopy of the powders and by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses of compounds released upon their hydrothermal treatment. Results were compared with those obtained for other meteorites of diverse classifications (Murray, GRA 95229, Murchison, Orgueil, and Tagish Lake) and found to be so far unique in regard to the molecular species released. These include, in addition to O-containing aromatic compounds, complex polyether- and ester-containing alkyl molecules of prebiotic appeal and never detected in meteorites before. The Sutter’s Mill fragments we analyzed had likely been altered by heat, and the hydrothermal conditions of the experiments realistically mimic early Earth settings, such as near volcanic activity or impact craters. On this basis, the data suggest a far larger availability of meteoritic organic materials for planetary environments than previously assumed and that molecular evolution on the early Earth could have benefited from accretion of carbonaceous meteorites both directly with soluble compounds and, for a more protracted time, through alteration, processing, and release from their insoluble organic materials.
Footnotes
- ↵ 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pizzar{at}asu.edu.
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Author contributions: S.P. designed research; S.P., S.K.D., and L.B.W. performed research; S.P. and G.P.H. analyzed data; and S.P. wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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↵*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1309113110/-/DCSupplemental.
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