Murchison is one of the most primitive meteorites known and contains water-bearing minerals along with complex organic compounds, including over 100 amino acids and the bases that make up the biological coding elements of RNA and DNA; however, all of these have a non-biogenic origin. Some current isotopic studies hint that organic sulfur compounds within Murchison might have been created by interaction of carbon disulfide gas-phase molecules with light in the low-temperature, pre-planetary environment of interstellar space.
The following organic compounds have been isolated from Murchison:
DIAMINO ACIDS IDENTIFIED IN MURCHISON (CM2)
Uwe J. Meierhenrich et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., vol. 101, (2004)
D- and L-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid
D- and L-2,4-diaminobutanoic acid
3,3'-diaminoisobutanoic acid
2,3-diaminobutanoic acid
4,4'-diaminoisopentanoic acid
In addition, over fifty water-soluble monocarboxylic acids have been identified in Murchison (Huang et al., 2005).
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IDENTIFIED IN MURCHISON (CM2), MURRAY (CM2), AND TAGISH LAKE (C2-UNG)
Oba et al., Nature Communications, vol. 11, #6243 (2020)
The polyheterocyclic organic molecule hexamethylenetetramine (HMT), a precursor of prebiotic chemistry produced in interstellar ices, was identified at parts-per-billion levels in the Murchison, Murray, and Tagish Lake meteorites (Oba et al., 2020). Hydrothermal processing of HMT leads to the formation of soluble and insoluble organic matter, including amino acids, sugars, formaldehyde, ammonia, amines, and nitrogen heterocycles. The supply of HMT and its derivatives in extraterrestrial material could have been a crucial element in the evolution of life on Earth.
Note: An asterisk (*) after the name of an amino acid indicates
a tentative identification.
Portions excerpted from Shock E.L., and Schulte M.D., Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison Meteorite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1990, vol. 54, pp. 3159-3173.