1
|
Tait AW, Wilson SA, Tomkins AG, Hamilton JL, Gagen EJ, Holman AI, Grice K, Preston LJ, Paterson DJ, Southam G. Preservation of Terrestrial Microorganisms and Organics Within Alteration Products of Chondritic Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:399-415. [PMID: 35100042 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Meteorites that fall to Earth quickly become contaminated with terrestrial microorganisms. These meteorites are out of chemical equilibrium in the environments where they fall, and equilibration promotes formation of low-temperature alteration minerals that can entomb contaminant microorganisms and thus preserve them as microfossils. Given the well-understood chemistry of meteorites and their recent discovery on Mars by rovers, a similarly weathered meteorite on Mars could preserve organic and fossil evidence of a putative past biosphere at the martian surface. Here, we used several techniques to assess the potential of alteration minerals to preserve microfossils and biogenic organics in terrestrially weathered ordinary chondrites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. We used acid etching of ordinary chondrites to reveal entombed fungal hyphae, modern biofilms, and diatoms within alteration minerals. We employed synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy of alteration mineral veins to map the distribution of redox-sensitive elements of relevance to chemolithotrophic organisms, such as Mn-cycling bacteria. We assessed the biogenicity of fungal hyphae within alteration veins using a combination of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, which showed that alteration minerals sequester and preserve organic molecules at various levels of decomposition. Our combined analyses results show that fossil microorganisms and the organic molecules they produce are preserved within calcite-gypsum admixtures in meteorites. Furthermore, the distributions of redox-sensitive elements (e.g., Mn) within alteration minerals are localized, which qualitatively suggests that climatically or microbially facilitated element mobilization occurred during the meteorite's residency on Earth. If returned as part of a sample suite from the martian surface, ordinary chondrites could preserve similar, recognizable evidence of putative past life and/or environmental change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alastair W Tait
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Siobhan A Wilson
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Andrew G Tomkins
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jessica L Hamilton
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Emma J Gagen
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Alex I Holman
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kliti Grice
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Louisa J Preston
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gordon Southam
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Skouri-Panet F, Benzerara K, Cosmidis J, Férard C, Caumes G, De Luca G, Heulin T, Duprat E. In Vitro and in Silico Evidence of Phosphatase Diversity in the Biomineralizing Bacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis. Front Microbiol 2018; 8:2592. [PMID: 29375498 PMCID: PMC5768637 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial phosphatase activity can trigger the precipitation of metal-phosphate minerals, a process called phosphatogenesis with global geochemical and environmental implications. An increasing diversity of phosphatases expressed by diverse microorganisms has been evidenced in various environments. However, it is challenging to link the functional properties of genomic repertoires of phosphatases with the phosphatogenesis capabilities of microorganisms. Here, we studied the betaproteobacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis (Rta), known to biomineralize Ca-phosphates in the environment and the laboratory. We investigated the functional repertoire of this biomineralization process at the cell, genome and molecular level. Based on a mineralization assay, Rta is shown to hydrolyse the phosphoester bonds of a wide range of organic P molecules. Accordingly, its genome has an unusually high diversity of phosphatases: five genes belonging to two non-homologous families, phoD and phoX, were detected. These genes showed diverse predicted cis-regulatory elements. Moreover, they encoded proteins with diverse structural properties according to molecular models. Heterologously expressed PhoD and PhoX in Escherichia coli had different profiles of substrate hydrolysis. As evidenced for Rta cells, recombinant E. coli cells induced the precipitation of Ca-phosphate mineral phases, identified as poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite. The phosphatase genomic repertoire of Rta (containing phosphatases of both the PhoD and PhoX families) was previously evidenced as prevalent in marine oligotrophic environments. Interestingly, the Tataouine sand from which Rta was isolated showed similar P-depleted, but Ca-rich conditions. Overall, the diversity of phosphatases in Rta allows the hydrolysis of a broad range of organic P substrates and therefore the release of orthophosphates (inorganic phosphate) under diverse trophic conditions. Since the release of orthophosphates is key to the achievement of high saturation levels with respect to hydroxyapatite and the induction of phosphatogenesis, Rta appears as a particularly efficient driver of this process as shown experimentally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fériel Skouri-Panet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD 206, Paris, France
| | - Karim Benzerara
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD 206, Paris, France
| | - Julie Cosmidis
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Céline Férard
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD 206, Paris, France
| | - Géraldine Caumes
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD 206, Paris, France
| | - Gilles De Luca
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère et Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 7265, Aix Marseille Univ, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Thierry Heulin
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère et Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 7265, Aix Marseille Univ, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Elodie Duprat
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Universités, UMR 7590, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD 206, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Overview of the techniques used for the study of non-terrestrial bodies: Proposition of novel non-destructive methodology. Trends Analyt Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2017.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
4
|
De Luca G, Barakat M, Ortet P, Fochesato S, Jourlin-Castelli C, Ansaldi M, Py B, Fichant G, Coutinho PM, Voulhoux R, Bastien O, Maréchal E, Henrissat B, Quentin Y, Noirot P, Filloux A, Méjean V, DuBow MS, Barras F, Barbe V, Weissenbach J, Mihalcescu I, Verméglio A, Achouak W, Heulin T. The cyst-dividing bacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310 genome reveals a well-stocked toolbox for adaptation to a desert environment. PLoS One 2011; 6:e23784. [PMID: 21912644 PMCID: PMC3164672 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2011] [Accepted: 07/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310(T) (strain TTB310), a betaproteobacterium isolated from a semi-arid region of South Tunisia (Tataouine), is characterized by the presence of both spherical and rod-shaped cells in pure culture. Cell division of strain TTB310 occurs by the binary fission of spherical "cyst-like" cells ("cyst-cyst" division). The rod-shaped cells formed at the periphery of a colony (consisting mainly of cysts) are highly motile and colonize a new environment, where they form a new colony by reversion to cyst-like cells. This unique cell cycle of strain TTB310, with desiccation tolerant cyst-like cells capable of division and desiccation sensitive motile rods capable of dissemination, appears to be a novel adaptation for life in a hot and dry desert environment. In order to gain insights into strain TTB310's underlying genetic repertoire and possible mechanisms responsible for its unusual lifestyle, the genome of strain TTB310 was completely sequenced and subsequently annotated. The complete genome consists of a single circular chromosome of 4,070,194 bp with an average G+C content of 70.0%, the highest among the Betaproteobacteria sequenced to date, with total of 3,899 predicted coding sequences covering 92% of the genome. We found that strain TTB310 has developed a highly complex network of two-component systems, which may utilize responses to light and perhaps a rudimentary circadian hourglass to anticipate water availability at the dew time in the middle/end of the desert winter nights and thus direct the growth window to cyclic water availability times. Other interesting features of the strain TTB310 genome that appear to be important for desiccation tolerance, including intermediary metabolism compounds such as trehalose or polyhydroxyalkanoate, and signal transduction pathways, are presented and discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gilles De Luca
- CEA, Lab Ecol Microbienne Rhizosphere & Environm Extre, iBEB, DSV, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Toporski J, Steele A. Observations from a 4-year contamination study of a sample depth profile through Martian meteorite Nakhla. ASTROBIOLOGY 2007; 7:389-401. [PMID: 17480167 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Morphological, compositional, and biological evidence indicates the presence of numerous well-developed microbial hyphae structures distributed within four different sample splits of the Nakhla meteorite obtained from the British Museum (allocation BM1913,25). By examining depth profiles of the sample splits over time, morphological changes displayed by the structures were documented, as well as changes in their distribution on the samples, observations that indicate growth, decay, and reproduction of individual microorganisms. Biological staining with DNA-specific molecular dyes followed by epifluorescence microscopy showed that the hyphae structures contain DNA. Our observations demonstrate the potential of microbial interaction with extraterrestrial materials, emphasize the need for rapid investigation of Mars return samples as well as any other returned or impactor-delivered extraterrestrial materials, and suggest the identification of appropriate storage conditions that should be followed immediately after samples retrieved from the field are received by a handling/curation facility. The observations are further relevant in planetary protection considerations as they demonstrate that microorganisms may endure and reproduce in extraterrestrial materials over long (at least 4 years) time spans. The combination of microscopy images coupled with compositional and molecular staining techniques is proposed as a valid method for detection of life forms in martian materials as a first-order assessment. Time-resolved in situ observations further allow observation of possible (bio)dynamics within the system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Toporski
- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Rochette P, Gattacceca J, Chevrier V, Mathé PE, Menvielle M. Magnetism, iron minerals, and life on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2006; 6:423-36. [PMID: 16805698 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.6.423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
A short critical review is provided on two questions linking magnetism and possible early life on Mars: (1) Did Mars have an Earth-like internal magnetic field, and, if so, during which period and was it a requisite for life? (2) Is there a connection between iron minerals in the martian regolith and life? We also discuss the possible astrobiological implications of magnetic measurements at the surface of Mars using two proposed instruments. A magnetic remanence device based on magnetic field measurements can be used to identify Noachian age rocks and lightning impacts. A contact magnetic susceptibility probe can be used to investigate weathering rinds on martian rocks and identify meteorites among the small regolith rocks. Both materials are considered possible specific niches for microorganisms and, thus, potential astrobiological targets. Experimental results on analogues are presented to support the suitability of such in situ measurements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P Rochette
- CEREGE, CNRS/Universitá d'Aix Marseille 3, Aix en Provence, France.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Gommeaux M, Barakat M, Lesourd M, Thiéry J, Heulin T. A morphological transition in the pleomorphic bacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310. Res Microbiol 2005; 156:1026-30. [PMID: 16112847 DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2005.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2005] [Revised: 04/20/2005] [Accepted: 05/12/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We provide microscopic evidence that motile rod-shaped forms of Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310 are formed from dividing cyst-like cells. Careful estimation of the size of the two morphotypes was conducted using optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cyst-like cell was shown to be a sphere with a diameter Dc=850 nm. The rod-shaped form was a round-ended cylinder with length Lr=2.91 microm and diameter Dr=239 nm. The membrane area of the two morphotypes was the same. However, the formation of rods from cysts involved loss of two-thirds of the cell volume. TEM showed that, prior to division and transition into rods, cysts contained condensed cytoplasmic material. These results suggest that the morphological transition occurs by pure reshaping of cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Gommeaux
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère, CEA Cadarache, DSV-DEVM, UMR 6191 CNRS-CEA-Université Aix-Marseille 2, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance Cedex, France
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Gourier D, Binet L, Scrzypczak A, Derenne S, Robert F. Search for EPR markers of the history and origin of the insoluble organic matter in extraterrestrial and terrestrial rocks. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2004; 60:1349-1357. [PMID: 15134734 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2003.10.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2003] [Accepted: 10/19/2003] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The insoluble organic matter (IOM) of three carbonaceous meteorites (Orgueil, Murchison and Tagish Lake meteorites) and three samples of cherts (microcrystalline SiO2 rock) containing microfossils with age ranging between 45 million years and 3.5 billion years is studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The age of the meteorites is that of the solar system (4.6 billion years). The purpose of this work was to determine the EPR parameters, which allow us to discriminate between biogenic and extra terrestrial origin for the organic matter. Such indicators should be relevant for the controversy regarding the biogenicity of the organic matter in the oldest cheroot (3.5 billion years) and in Martian meteorites containing microbe-like microstructures. The organic matter of meteorites contains a high concentration of diradicaloid moieties characterised by a diamagnetic ground state S = 0 and a thermally accessible triplet state S = 1. The three meteorites exhibit the same singlet-triplet gap (ST gap) DeltaE approximately 0.1 eV. To the best of our knowledge, such diradicaloids are unknown in insoluble organic matter of terrestrial origin. We have also shown that the EPR linewidth of insoluble organic matter in cherts and coals decrease logarithmically with the age of the organic matter. We conclude from this result that the organic matter in the oldest cherts (3.5 billion years) has the same age as their SiO2 matrix, and is not due to a latter contamination by bacteria, as was recently found in meteoritic samples.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Didier Gourier
- Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris (ENSCP), Laboratoire de Chimie appliquée de l'Etat Solide, UMR-CNRS 7574, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris 05, France.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Soina VS, Mulyukin AL, Demkina EV, Vorobyova EA, El-Registan GI. The structure of resting bacterial populations in soil and subsoil permafrost. ASTROBIOLOGY 2004; 4:345-358. [PMID: 15383239 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2004.4.345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The structure of individual cells in microbial populations in situ of the Arctic and Antarctic permafrost was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy methods and compared with that of cyst-like resting forms generated under special conditions by the non-spore-forming bacteria Arthrobacter and Micrococcus isolated from the permafrost. Electron microscopy examination of microorganisms in situ revealed several types of bacterial cells having no signs of damage, including "dwarf" curved forms similar to nanoforms. Intact bacterial cells in situ and frozen cultures of the permafrost isolates differed from vegetative cells by thickened cell walls, the altered structure of cytoplasm, and the compact nucleoid, and were similar in these features to cyst-like resting forms of non-spore-forming "permafrost" bacterial strains of Arthrobacter and Micrococcus spp. Cyst-like cells, being resistant to adverse external factors, are regarded as being responsible for survival of the non-spore-formers under prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures and can be a target to search for living microorganisms in natural environments both on the Earth and on extraterrestrial bodies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vera S Soina
- Soil Science Faculty, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Heulin T, Barakat M, Christen R, Lesourd M, Sutra L, De Luca G, Achouak W. Ramlibacter tataouinensis gen. nov., sp. nov., and Ramlibacter henchirensis sp. nov., cyst-producing bacteria isolated from subdesert soil in Tunisia. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2003; 53:589-594. [PMID: 12710631 DOI: 10.1099/ijs.0.02482-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ramlibacter gen. nov. is proposed for two aerobic, chemo-organotrophic, cyst-producing soil bacterial strains. These bacteria are Gram-negative, non-flagellated rods or cysts, isolated from subdesert soil in Tataouine, Tunisia. Phylogenetic analyses of the rrs sequences of the two strains showed that they do not constitute a robust clade at the genus level with any previously described bacteria and that they are a deep branch of a clade also grouping the genera Acidovorax and Hydrogenophaga within the beta-Proteobacteria. They belong to two different species, as verified by DNA-DNA hybridization (23.5% reassociation). The type species of the genus is Ramlibacter tataouinensis sp. nov., with the type strain TTB310T (=DSM 14655T =ATCC BAA-407T =LMG 21543T). The second species is Ramlibacter henchirensis sp. nov., with the type strain TMB834T (=DSM 14656T =ATCC BAA-408T =LMG 21542T). The G + C contents of R. tataouinensis and R. henchirensis are 69.6 and 66.6 mol%, respectively.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Heulin
- CEA/Cadarache, DSV-DEVM, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère UMR 163 CNRS-CEA-Univ. Méditerranée, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Mohamed Barakat
- CEA/Cadarache, DSV-DEVM, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère UMR 163 CNRS-CEA-Univ. Méditerranée, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Richard Christen
- UMR 6078 CNRS-Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Bât. Jean Maetz, F-06230 Villefranche-sur-mer, France
| | - Maurice Lesourd
- Service Commun de Microscopie Electronique, CNRS & Université d'Angers, rue Haute de Reculée, F-49045 Angers, France
| | - Laurent Sutra
- UMR 077 de Pathologie Végétale, INRA-INH-Université d'Angers, 42 rue Georges-Morel, BP 57, F-49071 Beaucouzé Cedex, France
| | - Gilles De Luca
- CEA/Cadarache, DSV-DEVM, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère UMR 163 CNRS-CEA-Univ. Méditerranée, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Wafa Achouak
- CEA/Cadarache, DSV-DEVM, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère UMR 163 CNRS-CEA-Univ. Méditerranée, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Ball P. Resurrecting life on Mars? Nature 2000. [DOI: 10.1038/news000309-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|