Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2019 Aug 20;140:103-112. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.03.005. Epub 2019 Mar 9.
Here we discuss the early geological record of preserved organic carbon and the criteria that must be applied to distinguish biological from non-biological origins. Sedimentary graphite, irrespective of its isotopic composition, does not constitute a reliable biosignature because the rocks in which it is found are generally metamorphosed to the point where convincing signs of life have been erased. Rather, multiple lines of evidence, including sedimentary textures, microfossils, large accumulations of organic matter and isotopic data for co-existing carbon, nitrogen and sulfur are required before biological origin can be convincingly demonstrated.
在这里，我们讨论了保存的有机碳的早期地质记录，以及必须应用的标准来区分生物起源和非生物起源。无论其同位素组成如何，沉积石墨都不能构成可靠的生物特征，因为形成它的岩石通常已经变质到生命的明显迹象都被抹去的程度。相反，在令人信服地证明生物起源之前，需要包括沉积结构、微化石、大量有机质的积累以及共存碳、氮和硫的同位素数据在内的多条证据。
