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Fungal hyphae develop where titanomagnetite inclusions reach the surface of basalt grains. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3407. [PMID: 35232970 PMCID: PMC8888555 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04157-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrient foraging by fungi weathers rocks by mechanical and biochemical processes. Distinguishing fungal-driven transformation from abiotic mechanisms in soil remains a challenge due to complexities within natural field environments. We examined the role of fungal hyphae in the incipient weathering of granulated basalt from a three-year field experiment in a mixed hardwood-pine forest (S. Carolina) to identify alteration at the nanometer to micron scales based on microscopy-tomography analyses. Investigations of fungal-grain contacts revealed (i) a hypha-biofilm-basaltic glass interface coinciding with titanomagnetite inclusions exposed on the grain surface and embedded in the glass matrix and (ii) native dendritic and subhedral titanomagnetite inclusions in the upper 1–2 µm of the grain surface that spanned the length of the fungal-grain interface. We provide evidence of submicron basaltic glass dissolution occurring at a fungal-grain contact in a soil field setting. An example of how fungal-mediated weathering can be distinguished from abiotic mechanisms in the field was demonstrated by observing hyphal selective occupation and hydrolysis of glass-titanomagnetite surfaces. We hypothesize that the fungi were drawn to basaltic glass-titanomagnetite boundaries given that titanomagnetite exposed on or very near grain surfaces represents a source of iron to microbes. Furthermore, glass is energetically favorable to weathering in the presence of titanomagnetite. Our observations demonstrate that fungi interact with and transform basaltic substrates over a three-year time scale in field environments, which is central to understanding the rates and pathways of biogeochemical reactions related to nuclear waste disposal, geologic carbon storage, nutrient cycling, cultural artifact preservation, and soil-formation processes.
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Treiman AH. Uninhabitable and Potentially Habitable Environments on Mars: Evidence from Meteorite ALH 84001. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:940-953. [PMID: 33857382 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The martian meteorite ALH 84001 formed before ∼4.0 Ga, so it could have preserved information about habitability on early Mars and habitability since then. ALH 84001 is particularly important as it contains carbonate (and other) minerals that were deposited by liquid water, raising the chance that they may have formed in a habitable environment. Despite vigorous efforts from the scientific community, there is no accepted evidence that ALH 84001 contains traces or markers of ancient martian life-all the purported signs have been shown to be incorrect or ambiguous. However, the meteorite provides evidence for three distinct episodes of potentially habitable environments on early Mars. First is evidence that the meteorite's precursors interacted with clay-rich material, formed approximately at 4.2 Ga. Second is that igneous olivine crystals in ALH 84001 were partially dissolved and removed, presumably by liquid water. Third is, of course, the deposition of the carbonate globules, which occurred at ∼15-25°C and involved near-neutral to alkaline waters. The environments of olivine dissolution and carbonate deposition are not known precisely; hydrothermal and soil environments are current possibilities. By analogies with similar alteration minerals and sequences in the nakhlite martian meteorites and volcanic rocks from Spitzbergen (Norway), a hydrothermal environment is favored. As with the nakhlite alterations, those in ALH 84001 likely formed in a hydrothermal system related to a meteoroid impact event. Following deposition of the carbonates (at 3.95 Ga), ALH 84001 preserves no evidence of habitable environments, that is, interaction with water. The meteorite contains several materials (formed by impact shock at ∼3.9 Ga) that should have reacted readily with water to form hydrous silicates, but there is no evidence any formed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan H Treiman
- Lunar and Planetary Institute / Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
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Epihov DZ, Saltonstall K, Batterman SA, Hedin LO, Hall JS, van Breugel M, Leake JR, Beerling DJ. Legume-microbiome interactions unlock mineral nutrients in regrowing tropical forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2022241118. [PMID: 33836596 PMCID: PMC7980381 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022241118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Legume trees form an abundant and functionally important component of tropical forests worldwide with N2-fixing symbioses linked to enhanced growth and recruitment in early secondary succession. However, it remains unclear how N2-fixers meet the high demands for inorganic nutrients imposed by rapid biomass accumulation on nutrient-poor tropical soils. Here, we show that N2-fixing trees in secondary Neotropical forests triggered twofold higher in situ weathering of fresh primary silicates compared to non-N2-fixing trees and induced locally enhanced nutrient cycling by the soil microbiome community. Shotgun metagenomic data from weathered minerals support the role of enhanced nitrogen and carbon cycling in increasing acidity and weathering. Metagenomic and marker gene analyses further revealed increased microbial potential beneath N2-fixers for anaerobic iron reduction, a process regulating the pool of phosphorus bound to iron-bearing soil minerals. We find that the Fe(III)-reducing gene pool in soil is dominated by acidophilic Acidobacteria, including a highly abundant genus of previously undescribed bacteria, Candidatus Acidoferrum, genus novus. The resulting dependence of the Fe-cycling gene pool to pH determines the high iron-reducing potential encoded in the metagenome of the more acidic soils of N2-fixers and their nonfixing neighbors. We infer that by promoting the activities of a specialized local microbiome through changes in soil pH and C:N ratios, N2-fixing trees can influence the wider biogeochemical functioning of tropical forest ecosystems in a manner that enhances their ability to assimilate and store atmospheric carbon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitar Z Epihov
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom;
- Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah A Batterman
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843 Ancón, Panamá, Panama
- School of Geography and Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545
| | - Lars O Hedin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Jefferson S Hall
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843 Ancón, Panamá, Panama
| | - Michiel van Breugel
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843 Ancón, Panamá, Panama
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore 138527
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077
| | - Jonathan R Leake
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - David J Beerling
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom
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Veneranda M, Lopez-Reyes G, Manrique-Martinez JA, Sanz-Arranz A, Lalla E, Konstantinidis M, Moral A, Medina J, Rull F. ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS): development of chemometric tools to classify ultramafic igneous rocks on Mars. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16954. [PMID: 33046782 PMCID: PMC7550563 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73846-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This work aims to evaluate whether the multi-point analysis the ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) will perform on powdered samples could serve to classify ultramafic rocks on Mars. To do so, the RLS ExoMars Simulator was used to study terrestrial analogues of Martian peridotites and pyroxenites by applying the operational constraints of the Raman spectrometer onboard the Rosalind Franklin rover. Besides qualitative analysis, RLS-dedicated calibration curves have been built to estimate the relative content of olivine and pyroxenes in the samples. These semi-quantitative results, combined with a rough estimate of the concentration ratio between clino- and ortho-pyroxene mineral phases, were used to classify the terrestrial analogues. XRD data were finally employed as reference to validate Raman results. As this preliminary work suggests, ultramafic rocks on Mars could be effectively classified through the chemometric analysis of RLS data sets. After optimization, the proposed chemometric tools could be applied to the study of the volcanic geological areas detected at the ExoMars landing site (Oxia Planum), whose mineralogical composition and geological evolution have not been fully understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Veneranda
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain.
| | - Guillermo Lopez-Reyes
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain
| | - Jose Antonio Manrique-Martinez
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain
| | - Aurelio Sanz-Arranz
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Lalla
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Andoni Moral
- Department of Space Programs, National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Medina
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain
| | - Fernando Rull
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Crystallography and Mineralogy, University of Valladolid, Ave. Francisco Vallés, 8, 47151, Boecillo, Spain
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Zaharescu DG, Burghelea CI, Dontsova K, Presler JK, Hunt EA, Domanik KJ, Amistadi MK, Sandhaus S, Munoz EN, Gaddis EE, Galey M, Vaquera-Ibarra MO, Palacios-Menendez MA, Castrejón-Martinez R, Roldán-Nicolau EC, Li K, Maier RM, Reinhard CT, Chorover J. Ecosystem-bedrock interaction changes nutrient compartmentalization during early oxidative weathering. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15006. [PMID: 31628373 PMCID: PMC6800431 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51274-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem-bedrock interactions power the biogeochemical cycles of Earth's shallow crust, supporting life, stimulating substrate transformation, and spurring evolutionary innovation. While oxidative processes have dominated half of terrestrial history, the relative contribution of the biosphere and its chemical fingerprints on Earth's developing regolith are still poorly constrained. Here, we report results from a two-year incipient weathering experiment. We found that the mass release and compartmentalization of major elements during weathering of granite, rhyolite, schist and basalt was rock-specific and regulated by ecosystem components. A tight interplay between physiological needs of different biota, mineral dissolution rates, and substrate nutrient availability resulted in intricate elemental distribution patterns. Biota accelerated CO2 mineralization over abiotic controls as ecosystem complexity increased, and significantly modified the stoichiometry of mobilized elements. Microbial and fungal components inhibited element leaching (23.4% and 7%), while plants increased leaching and biomass retention by 63.4%. All biota left comparable biosignatures in the dissolved weathering products. Nevertheless, the magnitude and allocation of weathered fractions under abiotic and biotic treatments provide quantitative evidence for the role of major biosphere components in the evolution of upper continental crust, presenting critical information for large-scale biogeochemical models and for the search for stable in situ biosignatures beyond Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dragos G Zaharescu
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Alternative Earths Team, NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| | | | - Katerina Dontsova
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Edward A Hunt
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Kenneth J Domanik
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Mary K Amistadi
- Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Shana Sandhaus
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Honor's College, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Elise N Munoz
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Honor's College, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Emily E Gaddis
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA
| | - Miranda Galey
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Biology Department, The University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN, USA
| | - María O Vaquera-Ibarra
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- University of the Americas Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | | | - Ricardo Castrejón-Martinez
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Estefanía C Roldán-Nicolau
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Kexin Li
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Raina M Maier
- Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Christopher T Reinhard
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Alternative Earths Team, NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Jon Chorover
- Biosphere 2, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Hays LE, Graham HV, Des Marais DJ, Hausrath EM, Horgan B, McCollom TM, Parenteau MN, Potter-McIntyre SL, Williams AJ, Lynch KL. Biosignature Preservation and Detection in Mars Analog Environments. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:363-400. [PMID: 28177270 PMCID: PMC5478115 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
This review of material relevant to the Conference on Biosignature Preservation and Detection in Mars Analog Environments summarizes the meeting materials and discussions and is further expanded upon by detailed references to the published literature. From this diverse source material, there is a detailed discussion on the habitability and biosignature preservation potential of five primary analog environments: hydrothermal spring systems, subaqueous environments, subaerial environments, subsurface environments, and iron-rich systems. Within the context of exploring past habitable environments on Mars, challenges common to all of these key environments are laid out, followed by a focused discussion for each environment regarding challenges to orbital and ground-based observations and sample selection. This leads into a short section on how these challenges could influence our strategies and priorities for the astrobiological exploration of Mars. Finally, a listing of urgent needs and future research highlights key elements such as development of instrumentation as well as continued exploration into how Mars may have evolved differently from Earth and what that might mean for biosignature preservation and detection. Key Words: Biosignature preservation-Biosignature detection-Mars analog environments-Conference report-Astrobiological exploration. Astrobiology 17, 363-400.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay E. Hays
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
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Adcock CT, Hausrath EM. Weathering Profiles in Phosphorus-Rich Rocks at Gusev Crater, Mars, Suggest Dissolution of Phosphate Minerals into Potentially Habitable Near-Neutral Waters. ASTROBIOLOGY 2015; 15:1060-1075. [PMID: 26684505 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Abundant evidence indicates that significant surface and near-surface liquid water has existed on Mars in the past. Evaluating the potential for habitable environments on Mars requires an understanding of the chemical and physical conditions that prevailed in such aqueous environments. Among the geological features that may hold evidence of past environmental conditions on Mars are weathering profiles, such as those in the phosphorus-rich Wishstone-class rocks in Gusev Crater. The weathering profiles in these rocks indicate that a Ca-phosphate mineral has been lost during past aqueous interactions. The high phosphorus content of these rocks and potential release of phosphorus during aqueous interactions also make them of astrobiological interest, as phosphorus is among the elements required for all known life. In this work, we used Mars mission data, laboratory-derived kinetic and thermodynamic data, and data from terrestrial analogues, including phosphorus-rich basalts from Idaho, to model a conceptualized Wishstone-class rock using the reactive transport code CrunchFlow. Modeling results most consistent with the weathering profiles in Wishstone-class rocks suggest a combination of chemical and physical erosion and past aqueous interactions with near-neutral waters. The modeling results also indicate that multiple Ca-phosphate minerals are likely in Wishstone-class rocks, consistent with observations of martian meteorites. These findings suggest that Gusev Crater experienced a near-neutral phosphate-bearing aqueous environment that may have been conducive to life on Mars in the past. KEY WORDS Mars-Gusev Crater-Wishstone-Reactive transport modeling-CrunchFlow-Aqueous interactions-Neutral pH-Habitability.
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Hausrath EM, Tschauner O. Natural fumarolic alteration of fluorapatite, olivine, and basaltic glass, and implications for habitable environments on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2013; 13:1049-64. [PMID: 24283927 PMCID: PMC3865726 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.0985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 09/14/2013] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Fumaroles represent a very important potential habitat on Mars because they contain water and nutrients. Global deposition of volcanic sulfate aerosols may also have been an important soil-forming process affecting large areas of Mars. Here we identify alteration from the Senator fumarole, northwest Nevada, USA, and in low-temperature environments near the fumarole to help interpret fumarolic and acid vapor alteration of rocks and soils on Mars. We analyzed soil samples and fluorapatite, olivine, and basaltic glass placed at and near the fumarole in in situ mineral alteration experiments designed to measure weathering under natural field conditions. Using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we clearly observe hydroxyl-carbonate-bearing fluorapatite as a fumarolic alteration product of the original material, fluorapatite. The composition of apatites as well as secondary phosphates has been previously used to infer magmatic conditions as well as fumarolic conditions on Mars. To our knowledge, the observations reported here represent the first documented instance of formation of hydroxyl-carbonate-bearing apatite from fluorapatite in a field experiment. Retreat of olivine surfaces, as well as abundant NH4-containing minerals, was also characteristic of fumarolic alteration. In contrast, alteration in the nearby low-temperature environment resulted in formation of large pits on olivine surfaces, which were clearly distinguishable from the fumarolic alteration. Raman signatures of some fumarolically impacted surfaces are consistent with detection of the biological molecules chlorophyll and scytenomin, potentially useful biosignatures. Observations of altered minerals on Mars may therefore help identify the environment of formation and understand the aqueous history and potential habitability of that planet.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Oliver Tschauner
- Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
- HiPSEC, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
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Greenberger RN, Mustard JF, Kumar PS, Dyar MD, Breves EA, Sklute EC. Low temperature aqueous alteration of basalt: Mineral assemblages of Deccan basalts and implications for Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2012je004127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Hausrath EM, Brantley SL. Basalt and olivine dissolution under cold, salty, and acidic conditions: What can we learn about recent aqueous weathering on Mars? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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