Distribution characteristics of lipids from salt sediments in Qaidam Basin and their astrobiological significance

On Earth, salt environments are the most relevant analogues to Martian salt deposits with regard to the search for preserved biomolecules. In this study, we analyzed the distribution of lipids in salt samples from Dalangtan and Qarhan in the Qaidam Basin, which is the most important area to carry ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science China. Earth sciences 2022, Vol.65 (1), p.156-166
Main Authors: Cheng, Ziye, Xiao, Long, Wang, Hongmei, Huang, Ting
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analogs
Astrobiology
Biomolecules
Clay minerals
Distribution
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Fatty acids
Glycerol
Isoprene
Lipids
Mars
Minerals
Research Paper
Salt
Salt content
Salt deposits
Salts
Sediments
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Summary:On Earth, salt environments are the most relevant analogues to Martian salt deposits with regard to the search for preserved biomolecules. In this study, we analyzed the distribution of lipids in salt samples from Dalangtan and Qarhan in the Qaidam Basin, which is the most important area to carry out analog research of Mars in China. Furthermore, we compared the lipids distribution results with that from other typical Martian analog sites such as the Atacama Desert. Salt samples in the Qaidam Basin are enriched with fatty acid compounds, including normal fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, branched fatty acids, and acyclic isoprene acids. In addtion, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and archaeol compounds were also detected in these salt samples. Compared with the hypersaline samples, the clay samples not only have higher abuandance of fatty acids, GDGTs and archaeol compounds, but also a more diversed lipids composition. Only a few lipids were detected in the pure-saline samples, such as archaeol compounds. These clues suggest that content of salt minerals is the major factor affecting the distribution of lipids. This study provides an analogy for detecting and evaluating the traces of life that may exist on Mars.
ISSN:1674-7313
1869-1897
DOI:10.1007/s11430-021-9812-2