Frontiers in Microbiology (Jun 2021)
Shaping of the Present-Day Deep Biosphere at Chicxulub by the Impact Catastrophe That Ended the Cretaceous
- Charles S. Cockell,
- Bettina Schaefer,
- Cornelia Wuchter,
- Marco J. L. Coolen,
- Kliti Grice,
- Luzie Schnieders,
- Joanna V. Morgan,
- Sean P. S. Gulick,
- Sean P. S. Gulick,
- Sean P. S. Gulick,
- Axel Wittmann,
- Johanna Lofi,
- Gail L. Christeson,
- David A. Kring,
- Michael T. Whalen,
- Timothy J. Bralower,
- Gordon R. Osinski,
- Philippe Claeys,
- Pim Kaskes,
- Sietze J. de Graaff,
- Thomas Déhais,
- Steven Goderis,
- Natali Hernandez Becerra,
- Sophie Nixon,
- IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Scientists
Affiliations
- Charles S. Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Bettina Schaefer
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
- Cornelia Wuchter
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
- Marco J. L. Coolen
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
- Kliti Grice
- WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
- Luzie Schnieders
- MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Joanna V. Morgan
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- Sean P. S. Gulick
- Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Sean P. S. Gulick
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Sean P. S. Gulick
- Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- Axel Wittmann
- Arizona State University, Eyring Materials Center, Tempe, AZ, United States
- Johanna Lofi
- Géosciences Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
- Gail L. Christeson
- Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
- David A. Kring
- 0Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States
- Michael T. Whalen
- 1Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States
- Timothy J. Bralower
- 2Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Gordon R. Osinski
- 3Institute for Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Philippe Claeys
- 4Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Pim Kaskes
- 4Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Sietze J. de Graaff
- 4Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Thomas Déhais
- 4Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Steven Goderis
- 4Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
- Natali Hernandez Becerra
- 5Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, IN, United States
- Sophie Nixon
- 5Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, IN, United States
- IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Scientists
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.668240
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12
Abstract
We report on the effect of the end-Cretaceous impact event on the present-day deep microbial biosphere at the impact site. IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub crater, México, allowing us to investigate the microbial communities within this structure. Increased cell biomass was found in the impact suevite, which was deposited within the first few hours of the Cenozoic, demonstrating that the impact produced a new lithological horizon that caused a long-term improvement in deep subsurface colonization potential. In the biologically impoverished granitic rocks, we observed increased cell abundances at impact-induced geological interfaces, that can be attributed to the nutritionally diverse substrates and/or elevated fluid flow. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed taxonomically distinct microbial communities in each crater lithology. These observations show that the impact caused geological deformation that continues to shape the deep subsurface biosphere at Chicxulub in the present day.
Keywords
