Rapid colonization of a space-returned Ryugu sample by terrestrial microorganisms
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The presence of microorganisms within meteorites has been used as evidence for extraterrestrial life, however, the potential for terrestrial contamination makes their interpretation highly controversial. Here, we report the discovery of rods and filaments of organic matter, which are interpreted as filamentous microorganisms, on a space-returned sample from 162173 Ryugu recovered by the Hayabusa 2 mission. The observed carbonaceous filaments have sizes and morphologies consistent with microorganisms and are spatially associated with indigenous organic matter. The abundance of filaments changed with time and suggests the growth and decline of a prokaryote population with a generation time of 5.2 days. The population statistics indicate an extant microbial community originating through terrestrial contamination. The discovery emphasizes that terrestrial biota can rapidly colonize extraterrestrial specimens even given contamination control precautions. The colonization of a space-returned sample emphasizes that extraterrestrial organic matter can provide a suitable source of metabolic energy for heterotrophic organisms on Earth and other planets.
Date Issued
2025-01-01
Date Acceptance
2024-11-04
Citation
Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2025, 60 (1)
ISSN
1086-9379
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume
60
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Meteoritics & Planetary Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Meteoritical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1111/maps.14288
Subjects
BACILLUS-SUBTILIS
BACTERIAL
CANNIBALISM
EVOLUTION
Geochemistry & Geophysics
GROWTH
MICROFOSSILS
Physical Sciences
Science & Technology
SEARCH
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2024-11-13