{
  "abstract": "Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth. Abundant H2 and CH4 in Enceladus's south-polar plume have been shown to be consistent with hydrogenotrophic methanogens feeding on products of long-lived serpentinization. However, thermo-permeability models make sustained core-wide H2 production by serpentinization uncertain. We therefore explore whether an alternative metabolism based on fermentation-driven heterotrophy could reproduce Cassini H2 and CH4 escape fluxes under limited serpentinization. We develop a coupled ecosystem model of fermentation and methanogenesis in a hydrothermal-ocean-plume framework, using glycine as a proxy for amino-acid-like fermentable organics. With effectively no abiotic H2 and CH4 input, purely heterotrophic communities with fermenters and methanogens can reproduce both Cassini-derived flux intervals given sufficient hydrothermal glycine-equivalent supply, while the estimated organic stock could sustain the required H2 production on gigayear timescales if fully available. We then test a scenario with input ranges for fermentable organic matter, H2, and CH4 informed by asteroid-sample measurements and geochemical estimates of limited serpentinization. Simulations within both Cassini-derived flux intervals are concentrated in communities with acetoclastic methanogens; Bayesian model comparison favors the same communities. This holds even allowing for greater abiotic H2 and CH4 inputs that reduce the fermentable-organic supply required to reproduce the plume. We therefore identify fermentation heterotrophy as a testable alternative to purely hydrogenotrophic, serpentinization-dominated biotic interpretations and motivate future plume searches for co-exported fermentation products, including acetate and ammonium, together with measurements of methane carbon isotopes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.13434",
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Sam Nasreldine"
    },
    {
      "name": "Antonin Affholder"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laura Molares Moncayo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Régis Ferrière"
    },
    {
      "name": "François Guyot"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2n0jzjknhpc41.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.13434",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2n0jzjknhpc41",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13434",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.EP"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astro and Planetary Science"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221543010",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.13434",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2n0jzjknhpc41.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
      "native_id": "2610.13434",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13434"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.EP",
      "subfield": "planetary"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fermentation heterotrophy can reproduce Enceladus's plume H2 and CH4 under limited serpentinization",
  "title_text": "Fermentation heterotrophy can reproduce Enceladus's plume H2 and CH4 under limited serpentinization",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2n0jzjknhpc41",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}