Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds
According to panspermia, life on Earth may have originated from life forms transported through space from elsewhere. These life forms could have passed through molecular clouds, where the process of methanogenesis could have provided enough energy to sustain living organisms. In this study, we calcu...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Life |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/14/11/1364 |
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| author | Lei Feng |
| author_facet | Lei Feng |
| author_sort | Lei Feng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | According to panspermia, life on Earth may have originated from life forms transported through space from elsewhere. These life forms could have passed through molecular clouds, where the process of methanogenesis could have provided enough energy to sustain living organisms. In this study, we calculate the Gibbs free energy released from synthesizing hydrocarbons for methanogenic (acetogenic) life in a molecular cloud, with methane (acetic acid) as the final metabolic product. Our calculations demonstrate that the chemical reactions during methanogenesis can release enough free energy to support living organisms. The methanogenic life may have served as the predecessor of life on Earth, and there is some preliminary evidence from various molecular biology studies to support this idea. Furthermore, we propose a potential distinguishing signal to test our model. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6c40bec0abbc48e382350b93fc080bbf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj-art-6c40bec0abbc48e382350b93fc080bbf2024-11-26T18:10:03ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292024-10-011411136410.3390/life14111364Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular CloudsLei Feng0Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210023, ChinaAccording to panspermia, life on Earth may have originated from life forms transported through space from elsewhere. These life forms could have passed through molecular clouds, where the process of methanogenesis could have provided enough energy to sustain living organisms. In this study, we calculate the Gibbs free energy released from synthesizing hydrocarbons for methanogenic (acetogenic) life in a molecular cloud, with methane (acetic acid) as the final metabolic product. Our calculations demonstrate that the chemical reactions during methanogenesis can release enough free energy to support living organisms. The methanogenic life may have served as the predecessor of life on Earth, and there is some preliminary evidence from various molecular biology studies to support this idea. Furthermore, we propose a potential distinguishing signal to test our model.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/14/11/1364origin of lifeLUCAmolecular cloud |
| spellingShingle | Lei Feng Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds Life origin of life LUCA molecular cloud |
| title | Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds |
| title_full | Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds |
| title_fullStr | Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds |
| title_short | Possibilities for Methanogenic and Acetogenic Life in Molecular Clouds |
| title_sort | possibilities for methanogenic and acetogenic life in molecular clouds |
| topic | origin of life LUCA molecular cloud |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/14/11/1364 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leifeng possibilitiesformethanogenicandacetogeniclifeinmolecularclouds |