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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1975 February; 29(2): 229-233
Copyright © 1975 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Stereoisomeric Specificity and Soil Gas Disequilibria: Implications for Martian Life Detection

^* Department of Microbiology and Medical Technology and Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721

ABSTRACT

Variations in the atmospheric composition of soil samples were monitored by mass spectrometry after the addition of mixtures of D- and L-carbohydrates and/or amino acids. The changes in concentrations of CO₂ in these experiments were found to be related to the stereoisomeric configurations of the compounds with which the soil samples were enriched. The potential of this relationship provides a comparatively simple approach for detecting life in extraterrestrial soils.