Tectonically-driven oxidant production in the hot biosphere

Researchers at Newcastle University have discovered a mechanism by which earthquakes create bursts of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen in hot underground fractures. These may have played a vital role in the early evolution and origin of life on Earth. Genomic reconstructions of the common ancestor to all life have identified genes involved in H2O2 and O-2 cycling. Commonly dismissed as an artefact of lateral gene transfer after oxygenic photosynthesis evolved, an alternative is a geological source of H2O2 and O-2 on the early Earth. Here, we show that under oxygen-free conditions high concentrations of H2O2 can be released from defects on crushed silicate rocks when water is added and heated to temperatures close to boiling point, but little is released at temperatures <80 degrees C. This temperature window overlaps the growth ranges of evolutionary ancient heat-loving and oxygen-respiring Bacteria and Archaea near the root of the Universal Tree of Life. We propose that the thermal activation of mineral surface defects during geological fault movements and associated stresses in the Earth's crust was a source of oxidants that helped drive the (bio)geochemistry of hot fractures where life first evolved.

Automated summary

Researchers at Newcastle University have discovered that earthquakes can create bursts of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen in hot underground fractures, which may have played a vital role in the early evolution and origin of life on Earth. Through genomic reconstructions, they have identified genes involved in H2O2 and O-2 cycling in the common ancestor to all life. They propose that the thermal activation of mineral surface defects during geological fault movements and associated stresses in the Earth's crust was a source of oxidants that helped drive the (bio)geochemistry of hot fractures where life first evolved.