Hydrothermal Vents

Factual Questions
1

OK, now that the search function is working again, I feel free to ask this.

I have a friend whom I am trying to convert into a Doper (Come, come to the dark side…). His current science fetish is hydrothermal vents. He’s got lots of stuff on them, visited the one here in NY recently, etc.

What he’s short on is the current thinking about them being a possible/likely place for the origin of life on this planet.

What is the current thinking on this hypothesis? Have we recovered any forms of protolife from these vents? Are there any peer-reviewed papers to which I can direct him?

Any new expeditions planned?

Strut your stuff and maybe recruit a new Doper.

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2

Anything to help, manny.

There are all kinds of critters around these vents, from bacteria like thigies up to crabs, tubeworms and shrimp.

I think scientists are considering the bacteria that grow here because they are anaerobic bacteria (oxygen in the atmosphere is a relatively recent phenomenon, in geographical terms) and the conditions are very harsh (~350 degrees C). They take in sulfur compounds and “breathe out” methane.

Technically these “bacteria” are not bacteria but are a part of a relatively newly formed class called “archaea”. To the layman they are perfectly bacteria-like but biochemically and genetically they have certain differences that many microbiologists feel warrant them a new kingdom separate from regular bacteria (called “eubacteria”).

AFAIK, the idea that life as we know it started in vents like these is the hottest (heh heh) hypothesis currently floating around (heh heh).

Gypsy: Tom, I don’t get you.
Tom Servo: Nobody does. I’m the wind, baby.

3

The little critters that thrive in and near hydrothermal vents are generically termed, “extremophiles.” Here’s a link to a digest of articles on the the subject of extremophiles.

4

A start

These folks would like to sell you an expensive book on the subject.

Some more.

A discussion

I seem to recall sunbear starting a thread in GD a few months ago on this subject.

This subject is way out of my areas of interest, but isn’t part of the basis for thinking of the origins of life when considering these critters also due to their being able to sustain themselves on minerals without any organic compounds in their diet?

Or, er, something like that.

5

Thanks, tracer. I hadn’t thought to search GD. Here is the link to that discussion.

6

Thanks, beatle, that is.

7

Are there homeless people sleeping over the hydrothermal vent your friend recently visited in NY?

8

Yup, this is one of the principal ideas floating around for the origin of life here on Earth (as opposed to elsewhere - check out the GD thread Origins of Life for a discussion of panspermia as well).

For a quick surf through some general info of interest regarding extremophile organisms and their habitats, your friend can check out the Astrobiology Web’s Life in Extreme Environments page, with its numerous links. This page also links to agencies involved in research and some recommended reading.

Most recent peer-reviewed papers that discuss the role of hydrothermal vents in the origins of life are aimed at discussing the possibility of life on other worlds, e.g.:

Chyba, C.F., and McDonald, G.D., 1995, The origin of life in the solar system - current issues: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, vol. 23, p. 215-249.

Farmer, J., 1998, Thermophiles, early biosphere evolution, and the origin of life on Earth: Implications for the exobiological exploration of Mars: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 103, No. E12, p. 28,457-28,261.

A couple of slightly older technical references may be more useful for finding out what people think (some varying viewpoints included):

Nisbet, E.G., and Fowler, C.M.R., 1996, The hydrothermal imprint on life: did heat-shock proteins, metalloproteins and photosynthesis begin around hydrothermal vents?, in MacLeod, C.J., Tyler, P.A., and Walker, C.L. (editors), Tectonic, Magmatic, Hydrothermal and Biological Segmentation of Mid-Ocean Ridges: London, The Geological Society, p. 239-251.

Origins of Life and the Evolution of the Biosphere, vol. 22, nos. 1-4, 1992. (the entire volume of this journal is devoted to life around hydrothermal vents; other assorted issues also have relevant papers)

Oro, J., Miller, S.L., and Lazcano, A., 1990, The origin and early evolution of life on Earth: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, vol. 18, p. 317-356.

Russell, M.J., and Hall, A.J., 1997, The emergence of life from monosulfide bubbles at a submarine hydrothermal redox and pH front: Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 154, p. 377-402.

Shock, E.L., 1996, Hydrothermal systems as environments for the emergence of life, in Bock, G.R., and Goode, J.A. (editors), The Evolution of Hydrothermal Systems on Earth (and Mars?): Chichester, John Wiley & Sons, Ciba Symposium No. 202, p. 52-60.

Hope these help get your friend started, and I hope he decides to come join the fun!

9

You guys just rock beyond all recognition. I’m gonna email this thread to him today and we’ll see if the bait lures him in.

(You don’t understand the POWER of the Dark Side…)

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