An abiotic source of Archean hydrogen peroxide and oxygen that pre-dates oxygenic photosynthesis

Hongping He (), Xiao Wu, Haiyang Xian, Jianxi Zhu, Yiping Yang, Ying Lv, Yiliang Li () and Kurt O. Konhauser ()
Additional contact information
Hongping He: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiao Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Haiyang Xian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianxi Zhu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yiping Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ying Lv: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yiliang Li: The University of Hong Kong
Kurt O. Konhauser: University of Alberta

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis is a pivotal event in Earth’s history because the O2 released fundamentally changed the planet’s redox state and facilitated the emergence of multicellular life. An intriguing hypothesis proposes that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) once acted as the electron donor prior to the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, but its abundance during the Archean would have been limited. Here, we report a previously unrecognized abiotic pathway for Archean H2O2 production that involves the abrasion of quartz surfaces and the subsequent generation of surface-bound radicals that can efficiently oxidize H2O to H2O2 and O2. We propose that in turbulent subaqueous environments, such as rivers, estuaries and deltas, this process could have provided a sufficient H2O2 source that led to the generation of biogenic O2, creating an evolutionary impetus for the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26916-2 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26916-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26916-2

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().