The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Early trace of life from 3.95 Ga sedimentary rocks in Labrador, Canada
Abstract
The vestiges of life in Eoarchean rocks have the potential to elucidate the origin of life. However, gathering evidence from many terrains is not always possible, and biogenic graphite has thus far been found only in the 3.7-3.8 Ga (gigayears ago) Isua supracrustal belt. Here we present the total organic carbon contents and carbon isotope values of graphite (δ 13 C org) and carbonate (δ 13 C carb) in the oldest metasedimentary rocks from northern Labrador. Some pelitic rocks have low δ 13 C org values of -28.2, comparable to the lowest value in younger rocks. The consistency between crystallization temperatures of the graphite and metamorphic temperature of the host rocks establishes that the graphite does not originate from later contamination. A clear correlation between the δ 13 C org values and metamorphic grade indicates that variations in the δ 13 C org values are due to metamorphism, and that the pre-metamorphic value was lower than the minimum value. We concluded that the large fractionation between the δ 13 C carb and δ 13 C org values, up to 25‰, indicates the oldest evidence of organisms greater than 3.95 Ga. The discovery of the biogenic graphite enables geochemical study of the biogenic materials themselves, and will provide insight into early life not only on Earth but also on other planets.
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“Isotopically ultralight carbon is also reported in 3.8 Ga sediment carbon [66, 67], which suggests the presence of the acetyl‐CoA pathway [68] without discriminating an acetogen or methanogen source.”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“Isotope data trace the ultralight isotope signature of the acetyl‐CoA pathway [68] back to > 3.5 Ga [65, 66], consistent with the structural (Fig. 3) and phylogenetic (Fig. 5) evidence for the age of corrins.”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“Ultralight isotopes indicate the presence of the acetyl-CoA pathway of CO2 fixation in primordial bacteria and archaea (Tashiro et al., 2017)”
From Serpentinization as the source of energy, electrons, organics, catalysts, nutrients and pH gradients for the origin of LUCA and life (2023) · cites this paper as Tashiro et al., 2017
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Vandenbroucke, M. (2003) · Oil & Gas Science and Technology – Revue d’IFP Energies nouvelles · doi:10.2516/ogst:2003016 · Cited by 194
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Items 201–209 of 209
Igisu, M., Tanaka, K., Takahata, N., Takai, K., Sano, Y., & Komiya, T. (2026) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2026.108074
Self-citationCatuneanu, O. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-26536-5.00003-2
The hydrogen, methane and ammonia biosphere on early Earth
Ohmoto, H., & Ferry, J. G. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-43917-7
Bekaert, D. V. (2020) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/f9c2a6a9z20f0z48abz8b74z1f699414a980
Fossilisation expérimentale du monde à ARN
Jacquemot, P. (2020) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/941e8aa5zcb6cz4abaza0f7zdac9be2a29c4
Assessing the Earliest Evidence for Life in the Geologic and Genomic Records
Bell, E. A., & Fournier, G. P. (2026) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1177/15311074261454242
Abiotic formation of 13C-depleted graphitic carbon during serpentinization
(315279), L. Z., Wang, Q., Xian, H., Yang, Y., Ding, X., & Xie, L. (2026) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2026.123556
Kerogen-Bound Maleimides Associated with Photosynthetic Pigment Inputs in 2.1 Ga Sedimentary Rocks
Saito, R., Takano, A., Sawaki, Y., Moussavou, M., & Edou-Minko, A. (2026) · Geosciences · doi:10.3390/geosciences16070287
Baidya, S., Ahmed, S., Ahmed, T., Paul, H. R., Hasib, M. A., Billah, A. M., & Debnath, A. K. (2026) · Materials Today Communications · doi:10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.116421
Metadata
- Authors
- Tashiro, T., Ishida, A., Hori, M., Igisu, M., Koike, M., Méjean, P., Takahata, N., Sano, Y., & Komiya, T.
- Affiliations
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Osaka Kyoiku University (JP)
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP)
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo (JP)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2017-09
- Volume
- 549
- Issue
- 7673
- Pages
- 516-518
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2760546791
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 14.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Tokyo
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (17H00777, 15H05830, 15J40157, 26106005, 16J07403)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
- Keywords
- early life, sedimentary rock, carbon isotopes, isotope fractionation, origin of life
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Carbon Isotopes, Crystallization, Graphite, Newfoundland and Labrador, Temperature, Earth, Planet, Geologic Sediments, Life, History, Ancient
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