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Methanethiol

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

CH3SH; Mercaptomethane; Methyl mercaptan; Thiomethanol

Definition

Methanethiol (its IUPAC official name) is a colorless gas under standard temperature and pressure, becoming liquid at 6 °C. It is the simplest thiol (thiols are analogs to alcohols, with an SH group replacing OH). Methanethiol has a strong rotten cabbage smell, so that some is added to natural gas to ease leak detection. It is produced by decaying organic matter in marshes and by decomposition of an algal metabolite (DMSP, dimethyl sulfonio proprionate). It is the main sulfur source of some marine bacteria and a possible substrate for methanogenesis. In prebiotic chemistry, its presence allows for the synthesis of the S-bearing amino acid methionine in Urey-Miller experiments (Miller 1974). Methanethiol has been found in interstellar space.

History

Methanethiol was detected in the interstellar medium toward the Galactic Center by Linke et al. (1979) (but not in comets up to now).

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References and Further Reading

  • Linke RA, Frerking MA, Thaddeus P (1979) Interstellar methyl mercaptan. Astrophys J Lett 234:L139–L142

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  • Miller S (1974) The atmosphere of the primitive Earth and the prebiotic synthesis of amino acids. Orig Life Evol Biosph 5:139–151

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire de Bordeaux, 2 r de l’Observatoire, 33270, BP 89, Floirac, France

    Didier Despois

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  1. Didier Despois
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Correspondence to Didier Despois .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Despois, D. (2014). Methanethiol. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1886-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1886-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    SH)
    Published:
    25 June 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1886-5

  2. Original

    Methanethiol
    Published:
    28 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1886-4

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