The role of halogens in Earth’s habitability evolution: The origin of organohalogens and the evolution of organohalide-respiring microorganisms over geological time scales

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2025.3.50

Abstract

Abstract:

The evolution of Earth’s habitability is closely linked to changes in the atmospheric and oceanic oxygen levels, particularly the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) and the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (NOE), two key oxidation events. These events not only affected Earth’s iron mineral processes but also had profound impacts on the nitrogen cycle, such as enhancing the bioavailability of nitrate through increased oxygen concentrations. Similarly, the halogen cycle, including halogenation and dehalogenation processes, may also have been influenced by the oxidative environment of early Earth. Halogenating enzymes, such as haloperoxidases and halogenases, require oxygen to oxidize halogen elements and generate organohalides. Therefore, oxidation events may have played a role in both the abiotic formation of organohalides (e.g., through Fenton reactions and iron ions) and the increase and spread of halogenating enzymes, thus promoting the production of thousands of organohalides on Earth. With the rise in natural organohalides, the evolution of organohalide-respiring microorganisms and the horizontal gene transfer rates of dehalogenation genes (e.g., reductive dehalogenase genes) may have accelerated. Obligate organohalide-respiring microorganisms Dehalococcoidia, such as Dehalococcoides and Dehalogenimonas strains, are inferred to have emerged during the Cambrian. These microorganisms play a crucial role in the biogeochemical cycling of organohalides. However, there is still limited information regarding their origin and evolution, as well as the evolution of dehalogenation genes, which hinders our understanding of the halogen cycle on geological time scales. This study aims to explore the role of halogens in the evolution of Earth’s habitability, particularly the origin of organohalides and the evolution of organohalide-respiring microorganisms. By approaching this topic from a geological time scale and integrating the perspective of biogeochemical cycles, we will analyze the production of organohalides, the distribution and evolution of organohalide-respiring microorganisms, and the role of halogenating enzymes and dehalogenases during Earth’s oxidation events. Through this research, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of the halogen cycle in the evolution of Earth’s habitability and provide scientific evidence for future environmental management and bioremediation.

Key words: halogen cycle, evolution of Earth’s habitability, organohalide-respiring microorganisms, organohalide respiration, reductive dehalogenase

CLC Number:

YANG Yi, ZHONG Yin, WANG Shanquan, WANG Hongyan, LIAO Hengyi, WANG Xin. The role of halogens in Earth’s habitability evolution: The origin of organohalogens and the evolution of organohalide-respiring microorganisms over geological time scales[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2025, 32(3): 156-167.

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