geology/ur ppmcugnon/sck-ulg/javaux day sckcen...paleobotany-paleopalynology-micropaleontology early...

Geology/UR PPM Paleobotany-Paleopalynology-Micropaleontology

Early land plants

Terrestrialisation

Biostratigraphy

Paleogeography

continental biospheremarine biosphere

Origin and early evolution of life

Paleobiology

Extreme life-Early Earth analogs

Biosignatures-Astrobiology

EVOLUTION OF THE EARLY BIOSPHERE

Paleoecology

in Holocene peatlands

Microscopy

Microchemistry

•Biosphere evolution•Biosignatures•Astrobiology

•Paleobiology: metabolism, biological affinities, ecology•Geology: paleoenvironments,biomineralization-datings•Molecular phylogeny

nm-µm scale

Comparison Fossil/extant microbial life

in diverse natural environmentsin extreme conditions (analogs)

by artificial fossilization

3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0

Time (Ga)

Archean Proterozoic PhanerozoicPaleo Meso Neo

glaciations

surface

deep Ocean

sedimentsH2SpO2<1%PAL

pO2<25%PAL

pO2~1PAL

impacts

O234S13C

tectonics

0.635-0.06

?3.8-3.5

1.2

0.75

0.75

?1.7-1.0

?2.7-2.5-1.9

?2.7-2.5-2.1

2.8-1.6

(Delsuc, 2005)

@knoll

@Butterfield

@B

utt

erf

ield

@Porter

@Xiao

Fossils

biomarkers

Isotopes

?0.8

@Butterfield

Nature, 463, 934-938, 2010.

Barberton, South Africa

Francevillian, Gabon

5 µm

13C

Microscopy, microchemistry

34S

ICDP FAR DEEP

ESF ArchEnviron

Karelia, Russia2.2-1.9 Ga

CC ULG

ESF CAREX

Fossilisation of cyanobacteria: phylogenetic, micropaleontological and sedimentological approaches and implications for the early biosphereevolution

(PI: Javaux, co-I: Wilmotte, Fagel, FNRS postdoc: K Lepot; coll BAS, U Gent)

Characterization of diagnostic cyanobacteria biomarkers

microscopy (morphology, ultrastructure, pigments fluorescence),

microchemistry (micro-FTIR, HPLC), sedimentology-mineralogy (IR, MEB,

XRD) Genetics (see AW)

› Artificial Fossilisation

Comparison with fossil mats and microfossils

lac Nella,

Larsemann Hills, 70°S

800 Ma3200 Ma

ESF CAREX

1500 Ma1900 Ma today

AW

AW

AW

In-situ Fluorescence by Cyanobacterial pigments

(orange) and carbonate grains (blue) with laser confocal

scanning microscope

MEB

Coccoidal microfossils and EPS

in situ in sediments

pigmented empty

sheath

Cell (unsheathed)

transparent empty

sheath

amides-OH

CH2/CH3

C-OP=O (DNA)

C-O-C polysach

CH2/CH3

proteins

???

P=

O(D

NA

,RN

A)

?

?

Scytonemin

Characteristic

bands

Micro-IR spectroscopy on fresh and artificially fossilized

cyanobacteria cells/sheaths (culture)

EDTA separation cells / sheaths (calothrix s39 CULTURE)

projet AYA2009-11681 Research and Innovation Ministery of Spain Identification of potential habitats for life on Early Mars using recent planetary data, terrestrial analogs and experimental modeling (4y)

CLUPI- EXOMARS ESA FNRS Contact group www.astrobio/oma.be