Exploring Nanopaleontology: new parameters of biogenicity and the study of biosignatures with synchrotron light

• Grant number: 20/02537-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2021
• End date: April 29, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Douglas Galante
• Grantee: Flávia Callefo
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/06114-6 - The Neoproterozoic Earth System and the rise of biological complexity, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/00900-0 - Exploration of morphological, geochemical and structural characteristics of microbialites to define new parameters of biogenicity, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Rocks from Archean and Proterozoic ages can provide important information about the origin and evolution of life on Earth, as well as the interaction between the biosphere and the other spheres of the planet. The oldest records of life on Earth have often their biogenicity questioned. Generally, rocks like these are explored using conventional techniques with spatial and spectral resolution limitations. Consequently, the presented biosignatures are often ambiguous and the questions about the origin, evolution and interaction of life on the planet remain unsolved. The possibility of applying nanometric resolution techniques with multiple contrasts and high sensibility in the 3rd and 4th generation synchrotron laboratories can provide solutions to problems related to biogenicity. Also, it may open a window for a new research field, the Nanopaleontology. The aim of this research is to explore this new field and propose new criteria for rock's biogenicity. In order to achieve this, it will be applied a multi technique and multi scale approach, using synchrotron-based experimental stations with micro and nano-focusing. This include the micro-XAS and c-SAX beamlines in Switzerland and the Carnaúba beamline, in the new brazilian synchrotron source, Sirius. Among the challenges to be addressed are the assessment of the biogenicity of rocks dating 3.7 billion years that may constitute the oldest evidence of life ever found on Earth; to evaluate the risks of damaging samples due to the incidence of intense radiation and find ways to mitigate them; and participate in the commissioning of the Carnaúba beamline, with the potential to make the beamline a reference for studies in Nanopaleontology and Paleometry.

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

EVELYN APARECIDA MECENERO SANCHEZ; GUILHERME RAFFAELI ROMERO; FLAVIA CALLEFO; ALEXANDRE RIBEIRO CARDOSO; THOMAS RICH FAIRCHILD. A guide for microscopic description of fossil stromatolites. BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY, v. 53, n. 1, 2023-07-03. (20/02537-5)

BRANCO, FRESIA RICARDI; CALLEFO, FLAVIA; ZEZZI ARRUDA, MARCO AURELIO; PESSOA, GUSTAVO DE SOUSA; FRANCA BARRETO, ALCINA MAGNOLIA; GHILARDI, ALINE MARCELE; MALDANIS, LARA; DA SILVA LOBO DO NASCIMENTO, LUIZ RICARDO. EARLY DIAGENESIS OF SEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH LIMESTONES SOILS. PALAIOS, v. 38, n. 3, p. 14-pg., 2023-03-01. (19/16727-3, 20/02537-5)

BENDIA, AMANDA G.; CALLEFO, FLAVIA; ARAUJO, MAICON N.; SANCHEZ, EVELYN; TEIXEIRA, VERONICA C.; VASCONCELOS, ALESSANDRA; BATTILANI, GISLAINE; PELLIZARI, VIVIAN H.; RODRIGUES, FABIO; GALANTE, DOUGLAS. Metagenome-Assembled Genomes from Monte Cristo Cave (Diamantina, Brazil) Reveal Prokaryotic Lineages As Functional Models for Life on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY, OCT 2021. (21/05083-8, 12/23241-0, 16/06114-6, 20/02537-5)

CALLEFO, FLAVIA; RICARDI-BRANCO, FRESIA; PACHECO, MIRIAN LIZA ALVES FORANCELLI; CARDOSO, ALEXANDRE RIBEIRO; NOFFKE, NORA; TEIXEIRA, VERONICA DE CARVALHO; NECKEL, ITAMAR TOMIO; MALDANIS, LARA; BULLOCK, EMMA; BOWER, DINA; et al. Evidence for metabolic diversity in Meso-Neoproterozoic stromatolites (Vazante Group, Brazil). Frontiers in Earth Science, v. 10, p. 18-pg., 2022-07-22. (16/06114-6, 15/21810-6, 20/02537-5, 21/05083-8)

TOLENTINO, HELIO C. N.; GERALDES, RENAN R.; DA SILVA, FRANCISCO M. C.; GUAITA, MARIA GABRIELLA D.; CAMARDA, CAROLINA M.; SZOSTAK, RODRIGO; NECKEL, ITAMAR T.; TEIXEIRA, VERONICA C.; HESTERBERG, DEAN; PEREZ, CARLOS A.; et al. The CARNAUBA X-ray nanospectroscopy beamline at the Sirius-LNLS synchrotron light source: Developments, commissioning, and first science at the TARUMA station. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, v. 266, p. 25-pg., 2023-06-15. (21/01357-6, 20/02537-5, 21/05083-8)

NECKEL, ITAMAR T.; DE CASTRO, LUCAS F.; CALLEFO, FLAVIA; TEIXEIRA, VERONICA C.; GOBBI, ANGELO L.; PIAZZETTA, MARIA H.; DE OLIVEIRA, RICARDO A. G.; LIMA, RENATO S.; VICENTE, RAFAEL A.; GALANTE, DOUGLAS; et al. Development of a sticker sealed microfluidic device for in situ analytical measurements using synchrotron radiation. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1, DEC 8 2021. (20/02537-5, 19/13888-6, 21/05083-8)

OLIVEIRA, A. B.; CALLEFO, F.; RICARDI-BRANCO, F.; BATEZELLI, A.; GALANTE, D.. Differential preservation in a lacustrine fossil assemblage from the Cretaceous Bauru basin, Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 153, p. 15-pg., 2025-01-10. (20/02537-5, 19/16727-3, 21/05083-8)