Assessment of Isoprene as a Possible Biosignature Gas in Exoplanets with
Anoxic Atmospheres
Abstract
Detecting biosignature gases on exoplanet atmosphere with near-future
space telescopes is one of the most promising methods of detecting life
beyond Earth. However, only a handful of biosignature gases are
discussed today, and some can also be made by non-living, geological
processes. Life, however, produces thousands of gases for a wide variety
of purposes. Here we present isoprene, C5H8, as a potential biosignature
gas. On Earth, isoprene is made at a comparable rate to methane
(~500 million tonnes per year) and solely by living
organisms. Remarkably, isoprene is produced by many organisms; plants,
bacteria, and animals. Unfortunately, isoprene is rapidly destroyed on
Earth by oxygen and OH, so for modern Earth isoprene is a poor
biosignature, but on a world without oxygen, could this abundant gas be
a sign of life? We evaluated the observation time required to detect
isoprene in various anoxic atmospheres and found that detection is
possible using JWST if life on that world made only one third as much
isoprene as Earth life does. Despite the observational challenges,
isoprene should be considered as a potential biosignature gas because of
wide and abundant production by life on Earth and no false positives in
any planetary scenario.