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Spry JA, Siegel B, Bakermans C, Beaty DW, Bell MS, Benardini JN, Bonaccorsi R, Castro-Wallace SL, Coil DA, Coustenis A, Doran PT, Fenton L, Fidler DP, Glass B, Hoffman SJ, Karouia F, Levine JS, Lupisella ML, Martin-Torres J, Mogul R, Olsson-Francis K, Ortega-Ugalde S, Patel MR, Pearce DA, Race MS, Regberg AB, Rettberg P, Rummel JD, Sato KY, Schuerger AC, Sefton-Nash E, Sharkey M, Singh NK, Sinibaldi S, Stabekis P, Stoker CR, Venkateswaran KJ, Zimmerman RR, Zorzano-Mier MP. Planetary Protection Knowledge Gap Closure Enabling Crewed Missions to Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:230-274. [PMID: 38507695 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
As focus for exploration of Mars transitions from current robotic explorers to development of crewed missions, it remains important to protect the integrity of scientific investigations at Mars, as well as protect the Earth's biosphere from any potential harmful effects from returned martian material. This is the discipline of planetary protection, and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) maintains the consensus international policy and guidelines on how this is implemented. Based on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) studies that began in 2001, COSPAR adopted principles and guidelines for human missions to Mars in 2008. At that point, it was clear that to move from those qualitative provisions, a great deal of work and interaction with spacecraft designers would be necessary to generate meaningful quantitative recommendations that could embody the intent of the Outer Space Treaty (Article IX) in the design of such missions. Beginning in 2016, COSPAR then sponsored a multiyear interdisciplinary meeting series to address planetary protection "knowledge gaps" (KGs) with the intent of adapting and extending the current robotic mission-focused Planetary Protection Policy to support the design and implementation of crewed and hybrid exploration missions. This article describes the outcome of the interdisciplinary COSPAR meeting series, to describe and address these KGs, as well as identify potential paths to gap closure. It includes the background scientific basis for each topic area and knowledge updates since the meeting series ended. In particular, credible solutions for KG closure are described for the three topic areas of (1) microbial monitoring of spacecraft and crew health; (2) natural transport (and survival) of terrestrial microbial contamination at Mars, and (3) the technology and operation of spacecraft systems for contamination control. The article includes a KG data table on these topic areas, which is intended to be a point of departure for making future progress in developing an end-to-end planetary protection requirements implementation solution for a crewed mission to Mars. Overall, the workshop series has provided evidence of the feasibility of planetary protection implementation for a crewed Mars mission, given (1) the establishment of needed zoning, emission, transport, and survival parameters for terrestrial biological contamination and (2) the creation of an accepted risk-based compliance approach for adoption by spacefaring actors including national space agencies and commercial/nongovernment organizations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Corien Bakermans
- Department of Biology, Penn. State University (Altoona), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David W Beaty
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Rosalba Bonaccorsi
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - David A Coil
- School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | | | - Peter T Doran
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Lori Fenton
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
| | - David P Fidler
- Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Brian Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Fathi Karouia
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Joel S Levine
- College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Javier Martin-Torres
- School of Geoscience, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Spain
| | - Rakesh Mogul
- California Polytechnic (Pomona), Pomona, California, USA
| | - Karen Olsson-Francis
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | | | - Manish R Patel
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - David A Pearce
- Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - John D Rummel
- Friday Harbor Associates LLC, Friday Harbor, Washington, USA
| | | | - Andrew C Schuerger
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Merritt Island, Florida, USA
| | | | - Matthew Sharkey
- US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Nitin K Singh
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Carol R Stoker
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
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Wood C, Bruinink A, Trembath-Reichert E, Wilhelm MB, Vidal C, Balaban E, McKay CP, Swan R, Swan B, Goordial J. Active microbiota persist in dry permafrost and active layer from Elephant Head, Antarctica. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycad002. [PMID: 38304082 PMCID: PMC10833075 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycad002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Dry permafrost is a challenging environment for microbial life due to cold, dry, and often oligotrophic conditions. In 2016, Elephant Head, Antarctica, was confirmed as the second site on Earth to contain dry permafrost. It is geographically distinct from the McMurdo Dry Valleys where dry permafrost has been studied previously. Here, we present the first study of the microbial activity, diversity, and functional potential of Elephant Head dry permafrost. Microbial activity was measured using radiorespiration assays with radiolabeled acetate as a carbon source at 5, 0, and -5°C. Low, but detectable, rates of microbial activity were measured in some samples at 0 and -5°C. This is distinct from previous studies of McMurdo Dry Valley dry permafrost which concluded that dry permafrost represents a cold-arid limit to life on the planet. The isolation of cold-adapted organisms from these soils, including one capable of subzero growth, further supports that the Elephant Head dry active layer and dry permafrost harbor viable microbial life, which may be active in situ. Metagenomic, 16S rRNA gene, and internal transcribed spacer and amplicon sequencing identified similar microbial communities to other Antarctic and cold environments. The Elephant Head microbial community appears to be adapted for survival in cold, dry, and oligotrophic conditions based on the presence of cold adaptation and stress response genes in the metagenomes. Together, our results show that dry permafrost environments do not exclude active microbial life at subzero temperatures, suggesting that the cold, dry soils of Mars may also not be as inhospitable as previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Wood
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Alyssa Bruinink
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States
| | - Mary Beth Wilhelm
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, United States
| | - Chanel Vidal
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 781 Terrace Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States
| | - Edward Balaban
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, United States
| | - Christopher P McKay
- Space Science & Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, United States
| | - Robert Swan
- 2041 Foundation, 130 Wescott Ct, Auburn, CA 95603, United States
| | - Barney Swan
- 2041 Foundation, 130 Wescott Ct, Auburn, CA 95603, United States
| | - Jackie Goordial
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
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Hart R, Cardace D. Mineral Indicators of Geologically Recent Past Habitability on Mars. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:2349. [PMID: 38137950 PMCID: PMC10744562 DOI: 10.3390/life13122349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We provide new support for habitable microenvironments in the near-subsurface of Mars, hosted in Fe- and Mg-rich rock units, and present a list of minerals that can serve as indicators of specific water-rock reactions in recent geologic paleohabitats for follow-on study. We modeled, using a thermodynamic basis without selective phase suppression, the reactions of published Martian meteorites and Jezero Crater igneous rock compositions and reasonable planetary waters (saline, alkaline waters) using Geochemist's Workbench Ver. 12.0. Solid-phase inputs were meteorite compositions for ALH 77005, Nakhla, and Chassigny, and two rock units from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover sites, Máaz and Séítah. Six plausible Martian groundwater types [NaClO4, Mg(ClO4)2, Ca(ClO4)2, Mg-Na2(ClO4)2, Ca-Na2(ClO4)2, Mg-Ca(ClO4)2] and a unique Mars soil-water analog solution (dilute saline solution) named "Rosy Red", related to the Phoenix Lander mission, were the aqueous-phase inputs. Geophysical conditions were tuned to near-subsurface Mars (100 °C or 373.15 K, associated with residual heat from a magmatic system, impact event, or a concentration of radionuclides, and 101.3 kPa, similar to <10 m depth). Mineral products were dominated by phyllosilicates such as serpentine-group minerals in most reaction paths, but differed in some important indicator minerals. Modeled products varied in physicochemical properties (pH, Eh, conductivity), major ion activities, and related gas fugacities, with different ecological implications. The microbial habitability of pore spaces in subsurface groundwater percolation systems was interrogated at equilibrium in a thermodynamic framework, based on Gibbs Free Energy Minimization. Models run with the Chassigny meteorite produced the overall highest H2 fugacity. Models reliant on the Rosy Red soil-water analog produced the highest sustained CH4 fugacity (maximum values observed for reactant ALH 77005). In general, Chassigny meteorite protoliths produced the best yield regarding Gibbs Free Energy, from an astrobiological perspective. Occurrences of serpentine and saponite across models are key: these minerals have been observed using CRISM spectral data, and their formation via serpentinization would be consistent with geologically recent-past H2 and CH4 production and sustained energy sources for microbial life. We list index minerals to be used as diagnostic for paleo water-rock models that could have supported geologically recent-past microbial activity, and suggest their application as criteria for future astrobiology study-site selections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Hart
- Department of Physics and Engineering, Community College of Rhode Island, Lincoln, RI 02865, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA;
| | - Dawn Cardace
- Department of Geosciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA;
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Moreno-Paz M, dos Santos Severino RS, Sánchez-García L, Manchado JM, García-Villadangos M, Aguirre J, Fernández-Martínez MA, Carrizo D, Kobayashi L, Dave A, Warren-Rhodes K, Davila A, Stoker CR, Glass B, Parro V. Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1259-1283. [PMID: 37930382 PMCID: PMC10825288 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
The low organic matter content in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, together with abrupt temperature shifts and high ultraviolet radiation at its surface, makes this region one of the best terrestrial analogs of Mars and one of the best scenarios for testing instrumentation devoted to in situ planetary exploration. We have operated remotely and autonomously the SOLID-LDChip (Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip), an antibody microarray-based sensor instrument, as part of a rover payload during the 2019 NASA Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) Mars drilling simulation campaign. A robotic arm collected drilled cuttings down to 80 cm depth and loaded SOLID to process and assay them with LDChip for searching for molecular biomarkers. A remote science team received and analyzed telemetry data and LDChip results. The data revealed the presence of microbial markers from Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Cyanobacteria to be relatively more abundant in the middle layer (40-50 cm). In addition, the detection of several proteins from nitrogen metabolism indicates a pivotal role in the system. These findings were corroborated and complemented on "returned samples" to the lab by a comprehensive analysis that included DNA sequencing, metaproteomics, and a metabolic reconstruction of the sampled area. Altogether, the results describe a relatively complex microbial community with members capable of nitrogen fixation and denitrification, sulfur oxidation and reduction, or triggering oxidative stress responses, among other traits. This remote operation demonstrated the high maturity of SOLID-LDChip as a powerful tool for remote in situ life detection for future missions in the Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rita Sofia dos Santos Severino
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
- Departament of Física y Matemáticas y de Automática, University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH), Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Sánchez-García
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel Manchado
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Jacobo Aguirre
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Fernández-Martínez
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Québec, Canada
| | - Daniel Carrizo
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Linda Kobayashi
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Arwen Dave
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Kim Warren-Rhodes
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
| | - Alfonso Davila
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Carol R. Stoker
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Brian Glass
- Space Science Division and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Víctor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), INTA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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Bonaccorsi R, Glass B, Moreno-Paz M, García-Villadangos M, Warren-Rhodes K, Parro V, Manchado JM, Wilhelm MB, McKay CP. In Situ Real-Time Monitoring for Aseptic Drilling: Lessons Learned from the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies Contamination Control Strategy and Implementation and Application to the Icebreaker Mars Life Detection Mission. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1303-1336. [PMID: 38133823 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
In 2019, the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project field-tested an autonomous rover-mounted robotic drill prototype for a 6-Sol life detection mission to Mars (Icebreaker). ARADS drilled Mars-like materials in the Atacama Desert (Chile), one of the most life-diminished regions on Earth, where mitigating contamination transfer into life-detection instruments becomes critical. Our Contamination Control Strategy and Implementation (CCSI) for the Sample Handling and Transfer System (SHTS) hardware (drill, scoop and funnels) included out-of-simulation protocol testing (out-of-sim) for hardware decontamination and verification during the 6-Sol simulation (in-sim). The most effective five-step decontamination combined safer-to-use sterilants (3%_hydrogen-peroxide-activated 5%_sodium-hypochlorite), and in situ real-time verification by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) Fluorescence Immunoassay for characterization hardware bioburden and airborne contaminants. The 20- to 40-min protocol enabled a 4-log bioburden reduction down to <0.1 fmoles ATP detection limit (funnels and drill) to 0.2-0.7 fmoles (scoop) of total ATP. The (post-cleaning) hardware background was 0.3 to 1-2 attomoles ATP/cm2 (cleanliness benchmark background values) equivalent to ca. 1-10 colony forming unit (CFU)/cm2. Further, 60-100% of the in-sim hardware background was ≤3-4 bacterial cells/cm2, the threshold limit for Class <7 aseptic operations. Across the six Sols, the flux of airborne contaminants to the drill sites was ∼5 and ∼22 amoles ATP/(cm2·day), accounting for an unexpectedly high Fluorescence Intensity (FI) signal (FI: ∼6000) against aquatic cyanobacteria, but negligible anthropogenic contribution. The SOLID immunoassay also detected microorganisms from multiple habitats across the Atacama Desert (anoxic, alkaline/acidic microenvironments in halite fields, playas, and alluvial fans) in both airborne and post-cleaning hardware background. Finally, the hardware ATP background was 40-250 times lower than the ATP in cores. Similarly, the FI peaks (FImax) against the microbial taxa and molecular biomarkers detected in the post-cleaned hardware (FI: ∼1500-1600) were 5-10 times lower than biomarkers in drilled sediments, excluding significant interference with putative biomarker found in cores. Similar protocols enable the acquisition of contamination-free materials for ultra-sensitive instruments analysis and the integrity of scientific results. Their application can augment our scientific knowledge of the distribution of cryptic life on Mars-like grounds and support life-detection robotic and human-operated missions to Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalba Bonaccorsi
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Brian Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Kimberley Warren-Rhodes
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Victor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Manuel Manchado
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Glass B, Bergman D, Parro V, Kobayashi L, Stoker C, Quinn R, Davila A, Willis P, Brinckerhoff W, Warren-Rhodes K, Wilhelm M, Caceres L, DiRuggiero J, Zacny K, Moreno-Paz M, Dave A, Seitz S, Grubisic A, Castillo M, Bonaccorsi R. The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) Project. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1245-1258. [PMID: 38054949 PMCID: PMC10750311 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
With advances in commercial space launch capabilities and reduced costs to orbit, humans may arrive on Mars within a decade. Both to preserve any signs of past (and extant) martian life and to protect the health of human crews (and Earth's biosphere), it will be necessary to assess the risk of cross-contamination on the surface, in blown dust, and into the near-subsurface (where exploration and resource-harvesting can be reasonably anticipated). Thus, evaluating for the presence of life and biosignatures may become a critical-path Mars exploration precursor in the not-so-far future, circa 2030. This Special Collection of papers from the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project describes many of the scientific, technological, and operational issues associated with searching for and identifying biosignatures in an extreme hyperarid region in Chile's Atacama Desert, a well-studied terrestrial Mars analog environment. This paper provides an overview of the ARADS project and discusses in context the five other papers in the ARADS Special Collection, as well as prior ARADS project results.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - D. Bergman
- Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - V. Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain
| | - L. Kobayashi
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - C. Stoker
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - R. Quinn
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - A. Davila
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - P. Willis
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | - K. Warren-Rhodes
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, California, USA
| | - M.B. Wilhelm
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - L. Caceres
- University of Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
| | | | - K. Zacny
- Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - M. Moreno-Paz
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain
| | - A. Dave
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - S. Seitz
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - A. Grubisic
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - M. Castillo
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - R. Bonaccorsi
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, California, USA
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7
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Stoker CR, Glass BJ, Stucky TR, Dave AI, Kobayashi LT, Quinn RC, Moreno-Paz M, Sánchez-García L, Mora MF, Kehl F, Parro V, Willis PA, Davila A, Noe Dobrea E, Rask JC, Ricardo D. A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1284-1302. [PMID: 37856168 PMCID: PMC10750310 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
We report on a field demonstration of a rover-based drilling mission to search for biomolecular evidence of life in the arid core of the Atacama Desert, Chile. The KREX2 rover carried the Honeybee Robotics 1 m depth The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploration of New Terrains (TRIDENT) drill and a robotic arm with scoop that delivered subsurface fines to three flight prototype instruments: (1) The Signs of Life Detector (SOLID), a protein and biomolecule analyzer based on fluorescence sandwich microarray immunoassay; (2) the Planetary In Situ Capillary Electrophoresis System (PISCES), an amino acid analyzer based on subcritical water extraction coupled to microchip electrophoresis analysis; and (3) a Wet Chemistry Laboratory cell to measure soluble ions using ion selective electrodes and chronopotentiometry. A California-based science team selected and directed drilling and sampling of three sites separated by hundreds of meters that included a light-toned basin area showing evidence of aqueous activity surrounded by a rocky desert pavement. Biosignatures were detected in basin samples collected at depths ranging from 20 to 80 cm but were not detected in the surrounding area. Subsurface stratigraphy of the units drilled was interpreted from drill sensor data as fine-scale layers of sand/clay sediments interspersed with layers of harder material in the basins and a uniform subsurface composed of course-to-fine sand in the surroundings. The mission timeline and number of commands sent to accomplish each activity were tracked. The deepest sample collected (80 cm) required 55 commands, including drilling and delivery to three instruments. Elapsed time required for drilling and sample handling was less than 3 hours to collect sample from 72 cm depth, including time devoted to recovery from a jammed drill. The experiment demonstrated drilling, sample transfer technologies, and instruments that accomplished successful detection of biomolecular evidence of life in one of the most biologically sparse environments on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brian J. Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Arwen I. Dave
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Maria F. Mora
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Florian Kehl
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Innovation Cluster Space and Aviation (UZH Space Hub), Air Force Center, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology, Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Engineering, Space Biology Group, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hergiswil, Switzerland
| | - Víctor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
| | - Peter A. Willis
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Alfonso Davila
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Jon C. Rask
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Daniel Ricardo
- Space Technology and Industry Institute, School of Engineering, Swinburne University of Technoogy, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
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Georgiou CD, McKay C, Reymond JL. Organic Catalytic Activity as a Method for Agnostic Life Detection. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1118-1127. [PMID: 37523279 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
An ideal life detection instrument would have high sensitivity but be insensitive to abiotic processes and would be capable of detecting life with alternate molecular structures. In this study, we propose that catalytic activity can be the basis of a nearly ideal life detection instrument. There are several advantages to catalysis as an agnostic life detection method. Demonstrating catalysis does not necessarily require culturing/growing the alien life and in fact may persist even in dead biomass for some time, and the amplification by catalysis is large even by minute amounts of catalysts and, hence, can be readily detected against abiotic background rates. In specific, we propose a hydrolytic catalysis detection instrument that could detect activity in samples of extraterrestrial organic material from unknown life. The instrument uses chromogenic assay-based detection of various hydrolytic catalytic activities, which are matched to corresponding artificial substrates having the same, chromogenic (preferably fluorescent) upon release, group; D- and L-enantiomers of these substrates can be used to also answer the question whether unknown life is chiral. Since catalysis is a time-proportional product-concentration amplification process, hydrolytic catalytic activity can be measured on a sample of even a minute size, and with instruments based on, for example, optofluidic chip technology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jean-Louis Reymond
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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9
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Severino R, Moreno-Paz M, Puente-Sánchez F, Sánchez-García L, Risso VA, Sanchez-Ruiz JM, Cabrol N, Parro V. Immunoanalytical Approach for Detecting and Identifying Ancestral Peptide Biomarkers in Early Earth Analogue Environments. Anal Chem 2023; 95:5323-5330. [PMID: 36926836 PMCID: PMC10061368 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Several mass spectrometry and spectroscopic techniques have been used in the search for molecular biomarkers on Mars. A major constraint is their capability to detect and identify large and complex compounds such as peptides or other biopolymers. Multiplex immunoassays can detect these compounds, but antibodies must be produced for a large number of sequence-dependent molecular targets. Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction (ASR) followed by protein "resurrection" in the lab can help to narrow the selection of targets. Herein, we propose an immunoanalytical method to identify ancient and universally conserved protein/peptide sequences as targets for identifying ancestral biomarkers in nature. We have developed, tested, and validated this approach by producing antibodies to eight previously described ancestral resurrected proteins (three β-lactamases, three thioredoxins, one Elongation Factor Tu, and one RuBisCO, all of them theoretically dated as Precambrian), and used them as a proxy to search for any potential feature of them that could be present in current natural environments. By fluorescent sandwich microarray immunoassays (FSMI), we have detected positive immunoreactions with antibodies to the oldest β-lactamase and thioredoxin proteins (ca. 4 Ga) in samples from a hydrothermal environment. Fine epitope mapping and inhibitory immunoassays allowed the identification of well-conserved epitope peptide sequences that resulted from ASR and were present in the sample. We corroborated these results by metagenomic sequencing and found several genes encoding analogue proteins with significant matches to the peptide epitopes identified with the antibodies. The results demonstrated that peptides inferred from ASR studies have true counterpart analogues in Nature, which validates and strengthens the well-known ASR/protein resurrection technique and our immunoanalytical approach for investigating ancient environments and metabolisms on Earth and elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Severino
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain.,PhD Program in Space Research and Astrobiology, University of Alcalá (UAH), 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Puente-Sánchez
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 75651 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Laura Sánchez-García
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Valeria A Risso
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad de Excelencia de Química Aplicada a Biomedicina y Medioambiente (UEQ), Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Jose M Sanchez-Ruiz
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad de Excelencia de Química Aplicada a Biomedicina y Medioambiente (UEQ), Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Nathalie Cabrol
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute, Mountain View, California 94043, United States
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
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10
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Billi D, Blanco Y, Ianneo A, Moreno-Paz M, Aguirre J, Baqué M, Moeller R, de Vera JP, Parro V. Mars-like UV Flux and Ionizing Radiation Differently Affect Biomarker Detectability in the Desert Cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis as Revealed by the Life Detector Chip Antibody Microarray. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:1199-1209. [PMID: 36194868 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The effect of a Mars-like UV flux and γ-radiation on the detectability of biomarkers in dried cells of Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029 was investigated using a fluorescence sandwich microarray immunoassay. The production of anti-Chroococcidiopsis antibodies allowed the immunoidentification of a reduced, though still detectable, signal in dried cells mixed with phyllosilicatic and sulfatic Mars regolith simulants after exposure to 6.8 × 105 kJ/m2 of a Mars-like UV flux. No signal was detected in dried cells that were not mixed with minerals after 1.4 × 105 kJ/m2. For γ-radiation (60Co), no detectable variations of the fluorescence signal occurred in dried cells exposed to 113 kGy compared to non-irradiated dried cells. Our results suggest that immunoassay-based techniques could be used to detect life tracers eventually present in the martian subsurface in freshly excavated materials only if shielded from solar UV. The high structural integrity of biomarkers irradiated with γ-radiation that mimics a dose accumulated in 13 Myr at 2 m depth from the martian surface has implications for the potential detectability of similar organic molecules/compounds by future life-detection missions such as the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Billi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biology, Rome, Italy
| | - Yolanda Blanco
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Department of Molecular Evolution, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andrea Ianneo
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biology, Rome, Italy
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Department of Molecular Evolution, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jacobo Aguirre
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Department of Molecular Evolution, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mickael Baqué
- German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Planetary Laboratories Department, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralf Moeller
- German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jean-Pierre de Vera
- German Aerospace Center (DLR), Space Operations and Astronaut Training, Microgravity User Support Center, Cologne, Germany
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Department of Molecular Evolution, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
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11
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Heldmann JL, Marinova MM, Lim DS, Wilson D, Carrato P, Kennedy K, Esbeck A, Colaprete TA, Elphic RC, Captain J, Zacny K, Stolov L, Mellerowicz B, Palmowski J, Bramson AM, Putzig N, Morgan G, Sizemore H, Coyan J. Mission Architecture Using the SpaceX Starship Vehicle to Enable a Sustained Human Presence on Mars. NEW SPACE 2022; 10:259-273. [PMID: 36199953 PMCID: PMC9527650 DOI: 10.1089/space.2020.0058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A main goal of human space exploration is to develop humanity into a multi-planet species where civilization extends beyond planet Earth. Establishing a self-sustaining human presence on Mars is key to achieving this goal. In situ resource utilization (ISRU) on Mars is a critical component to enabling humans on Mars to both establish long-term outposts and become self-reliant. This article focuses on a mission architecture using the SpaceX Starship as cargo and crew vehicles for the journey to Mars. The first Starships flown to Mars will be uncrewed and will provide unprecedented opportunities to deliver ∼100 metric tons of cargo to the martian surface per mission and conduct robotic precursor work to enable a sustained and self-reliant human presence on Mars. We propose that the highest priority activities for early uncrewed Starships include pre-placement of supplies, developing infrastructure, testing of key technologies, and conducting resource prospecting to map and characterize water ice for future ISRU purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Heldmann
- Division of Space Sciences and Astrobiology, Planetary Systems Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Darlene S.S. Lim
- Division of Space Sciences and Astrobiology, Planetary Systems Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | | | | | - Ann Esbeck
- Bechtel Corporation, Reston, Virginia, USA
| | - Tony Anthony Colaprete
- Division of Space Sciences and Astrobiology, Planetary Systems Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Richard C. Elphic
- Division of Space Sciences and Astrobiology, Planetary Systems Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Janine Captain
- NASA Kennedy Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
| | - Kris Zacny
- Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Leo Stolov
- Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Ali M. Bramson
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | | | | | | | - Josh Coyan
- United States Geological Survey (USGS), Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Spokane, Washington, USA
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12
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Kloprogge JT(T, Hartman H. Clays and the Origin of Life: The Experiments. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:259. [PMID: 35207546 PMCID: PMC8880559 DOI: 10.3390/life12020259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
There are three groups of scientists dominating the search for the origin of life: the organic chemists (the Soup), the molecular biologists (RNA world), and the inorganic chemists (metabolism and transient-state metal ions), all of which have experimental adjuncts. It is time for Clays and the Origin of Life to have its experimental adjunct. The clay data coming from Mars and carbonaceous chondrites have necessitated a review of the role that clays played in the origin of life on Earth. The data from Mars have suggested that Fe-clays such as nontronite, ferrous saponites, and several other clays were formed on early Mars when it had sufficient water. This raised the question of the possible role that these clays may have played in the origin of life on Mars. This has put clays front and center in the studies on the origin of life not only on Mars but also here on Earth. One of the major questions is: What was the catalytic role of Fe-clays in the origin and development of metabolism here on Earth? First, there is the recent finding of a chiral amino acid (isovaline) that formed on the surface of a clay mineral on several carbonaceous chondrites. This points to the formation of amino acids on the surface of clay minerals on carbonaceous chondrites from simpler molecules, e.g., CO2, NH3, and HCN. Additionally, there is the catalytic role of small organic molecules, such as dicarboxylic acids and amino acids found on carbonaceous chondrites, in the formation of Fe-clays themselves. Amino acids and nucleotides adsorb on clay surfaces on Earth and subsequently polymerize. All of these observations and more must be subjected to strict experimental analysis. This review provides an overview of what has happened and is now happening in the experimental clay world related to the origin of life. The emphasis is on smectite-group clay minerals, such as montmorillonite and nontronite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Teunis (Theo) Kloprogge
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao 5023, Philippines
| | - Hyman Hartman
- Department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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13
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Raymond-Bouchard I, Maggiori C, Brennan L, Altshuler I, Manchado JM, Parro V, Whyte LG. Assessment of Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction Systems in Combination with MinION Sequencing As Potential Tools for the Detection of Microbial Biosignatures. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:87-103. [PMID: 34962136 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The utilization of nanopore technologies for the detection of organic biogenic compounds has garnered significant focus in recent years. Oxford Nanopore Technologies' (ONT) MinION instrument, which can detect and sequence nucleic acids (NAs), is one such example. These technologies have much promise for unambiguous life detection but require significant development in terms of methods for extraction and preparation of NAs for biosignature detection and their feasibility for use in astrobiology-focused field missions. In this study, we tested pre-existing, automated, or semiautomated NA extraction technologies, coupled with automated ONT VolTRAX NA sample preparation, and verification with Nanopore MinION sequencing. All of the extraction systems tested (SuperFastPrep2, ClaremontX1, and SOLID-Sample Preparation Unit) showed potential for extracting DNA from Canadian High Arctic environments analogous to Mars, Europa, and Enceladus, which could subsequently be detected and sequenced with the MinION. However, they differed with regard to efficacy, yield, purity, and sequencing and annotation quality. Overall, bead beating-based systems performed the best for these parameters. In addition, we showed that the MinION could sequence unpurified DNA contained in crude cell lysates. This is valuable from an astrobiology perspective because purification steps are time-consuming and complicate the requirements for an automated extraction and life detection system. Our results indicate that semiautomated NA extraction and preparation technologies hold much promise, and with increased optimization and automation could be coupled to a larger platform incorporating nanopore detection and sequencing of NAs for life detection applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine Maggiori
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
| | - Laura Brennan
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ianina Altshuler
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lyle G Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
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14
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Sánchez-García L, Carrizo D, Lezcano MÁ, Moreno-Paz M, Aeppli C, García-Villadangos M, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Demergasso C, Chong G, Parro V. Time-Integrative Multibiomarker Detection in Triassic-Jurassic Rocks from the Atacama Desert: Relevance to the Search for Basic Life Beyond Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:1421-1437. [PMID: 34551267 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Detecting evidence of life on other planetary bodies requires a certain understanding of known biomarkers and their chemical nature, preservation potential, or biological specificity. In a planetary search for life, carbonates are of special interest due to their known association with life as we know it. On Earth, carbonates serve as an invaluable paleogeochemical archive of fossils of up to billions of years old. Here, we investigated biomarker profiles on three Chilean Triassic-Jurassic sedimentary records regarding our search for signs of past and present life over ∼200 Ma. A multianalytical platform that combines lipid-derived biomarkers, metaproteomics, and a life detector chip (LDChip) is considered in the detection of biomolecules with different perdurability and source-diagnosis potential. The combined identification of proteins with positive LDChip inmunodetections provides metabolic information and taxonomic affiliation of modern/subrecent biosignatures. Molecular and isotopic analysis of more perdurable hydrocarbon cores allows for the identification of general biosources and dominant autotrophic pathways over time, as well as recreation of prevailing redox conditions over ∼200 Ma. We demonstrate how extraterrestrial life detection can benefit from the use of different biomarkers to overcome diagnosis limitations due to a lack of specificity and/or alteration over time. Our findings have implications for future astrobiological missions to Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Sánchez-García
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Carrizo
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - María Ángeles Lezcano
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Christoph Aeppli
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine, USA
| | | | | | - Cecilia Demergasso
- Department of Geological Sciences, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - Guillermo Chong
- Department of Geological Sciences, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - Victor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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15
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Rizzo V, Armstrong R, Hua H, Cantasano N, Nicolò T, Bianciardi G. Life on Mars: Clues, Evidence or Proof? SOLAR PLANETS AND EXOPLANETS [WORKING TITLE] 2021. [DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.95531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The search for life on Mars is one of the main objectives of space missions. At “Pahrump Hills Field Site” (Gale Crater, Mojave target), inside the mudstones of the Murray lacustrine sequence, Curiosity rover found organic materials and lozenge shaped laths considered by NASA as pseudomorphic crystals. Besides it detected mineral assemblages suggesting both oxidizing (hematite) and reducing (magnetite) environments, as well as acidic (diagenetic and/or authigenic jarosite) and neutral (apatite) conditions, that might suggest bacterially mediated reactions. Our morphological and morphometrical investigations show that such diagenetic microstructures are unlikely to be lozenge shapes and, in addition to several converging features, they suggest the presence of remnants of complex algal-like biota, similar to terrestrial procaryotes and/or eukaryotes; possible microorganisms that, on the base of absolute dating criteria used by other scholars, lived on Mars about 2.12 +/−0.36 Ga ago.
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16
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Gallardo-Carreño I, Moreno-Paz M, Aguirre J, Blanco Y, Alonso-Pintado E, Raymond-Bouchard I, Maggiori C, Rivas LA, Engelbrektson A, Whyte L, Parro V. A Multiplex Immunosensor for Detecting Perchlorate-Reducing Bacteria for Environmental Monitoring and Planetary Exploration. Front Microbiol 2021; 11:590736. [PMID: 33391207 PMCID: PMC7772991 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.590736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Perchlorate anions are produced by chemical industries and are important contaminants in certain natural ecosystems. Perchlorate also occurs in some natural and uncontaminated environments such as the Atacama Desert, the high Arctic or the Antarctic Dry Valleys, and is especially abundant on the surface of Mars. As some bacterial strains are capable of using perchlorate as an electron acceptor under anaerobic conditions, their detection is relevant for environmental monitoring on Earth as well as for the search for life on Mars. We have developed an antibody microarray with 20 polyclonal antibodies to detect perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) strains and two crucial and highly conserved enzymes involved in perchlorate respiration: perchlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase. We determined the cross-reactivity, the working concentration, and the limit of detection of each antibody individually and in a multiplex format by Fluorescent Sandwich Microarray Immunoassay. Although most of them exhibited relatively high sensitivity and specificity, we applied a deconvolution method based on graph theory to discriminate between specific signals and cross-reactions from related microorganisms. We validated the system by analyzing multiple bacterial isolates, crude extracts from contaminated reactors and salt-rich natural samples from the high Arctic. The PRB detecting chip (PRBCHIP) allowed us to detect and classify environmental isolates as well as to detect similar strains by using crude extracts obtained from 0.5 g even from soils with low organic-matter levels (<103 cells/g of soil). Our results demonstrated that PRBCHIP is a valuable tool for sensitive and reliable detection of perchlorate-reducing bacteria for research purposes, environmental monitoring and planetary exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Jacobo Aguirre
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Madrid, Spain.,Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Yolanda Blanco
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Catherine Maggiori
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Luis A Rivas
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.,Inmunología y Genética Aplicada, S.A. (INGENASA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Engelbrektson
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Lyle Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Víctor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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17
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Sánchez-García L, Fernández-Martínez MA, Moreno-Paz M, Carrizo D, García-Villadangos M, Manchado JM, Stoker CR, Glass B, Parro V. Simulating Mars Drilling Mission for Searching for Life: Ground-Truthing Lipids and Other Complex Microbial Biomarkers in the Iron-Sulfur Rich Río Tinto Analog. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1029-1047. [PMID: 31916858 PMCID: PMC7499885 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Sulfate and iron oxide deposits in Río Tinto (Southwestern Spain) are a terrestrial analog of early martian hematite-rich regions. Understanding the distribution and drivers of microbial life in iron-rich environments can give critical clues on how to search for biosignatures on Mars. We simulated a robotic drilling mission searching for signs of life in the martian subsurface, by using a 1m-class planetary prototype drill mounted on a full-scale mockup of NASA's Phoenix and InSight lander platforms. We demonstrated fully automated and aseptic drilling on iron and sulfur rich sediments at the Río Tinto riverbanks, and sample transfer and delivery to sterile containers and analytical instruments. As a ground-truth study, samples were analyzed in the field with the life detector chip immunoassay for searching microbial markers, and then in the laboratory with X-ray diffraction to determine mineralogy, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for lipid composition, isotope-ratio mass spectrometry for isotopic ratios, and 16S/18S rRNA genes sequencing for biodiversity. A ubiquitous presence of microbial biomarkers distributed along the 1m-depth subsurface was influenced by the local mineralogy and geochemistry. The spatial heterogeneity of abiotic variables at local scale highlights the importance of considering drill replicates in future martian drilling missions. The multi-analytical approach provided proof of concept that molecular biomarkers varying in compositional nature, preservation potential, and taxonomic specificity can be recovered from shallow drilling on iron-rich Mars analogues by using an automated life-detection lander prototype, such as the one proposed for NASA's IceBreaker mission proposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Sánchez-García
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Address correspondence to: Laura Sánchez-García, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid 28850, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Brian Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
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18
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Fairén AG, Gómez-Elvira J, Briones C, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Rodríguez-Manfredi JA, López Heredero R, Belenguer T, Moral AG, Moreno-Paz M, Parro V. The Complex Molecules Detector (CMOLD): A Fluidic-Based Instrument Suite to Search for (Bio)chemical Complexity on Mars and Icy Moons. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1076-1096. [PMID: 32856927 PMCID: PMC7116096 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Organic chemistry is ubiquitous in the Solar System, and both Mars and a number of icy satellites of the outer Solar System show substantial promise for having hosted or hosting life. Here, we propose a novel astrobiologically focused instrument suite that could be included as scientific payload in future missions to Mars or the icy moons: the Complex Molecules Detector, or CMOLD. CMOLD is devoted to determining different levels of prebiotic/biotic chemical and structural targets following a chemically general approach (i.e., valid for both terrestrial and nonterrestrial life), as well as their compatibility with terrestrial life. CMOLD is based on a microfluidic block that distributes a liquid suspension sample to three instruments by using complementary technologies: (1) novel microscopic techniques for identifying ultrastructures and cell-like morphologies, (2) Raman spectroscopy for detecting universal intramolecular complexity that leads to biochemical functionality, and (3) bioaffinity-based systems (including antibodies and aptamers as capture probes) for finding life-related and nonlife-related molecular structures. We highlight our current developments to make this type of instruments flight-ready for upcoming Mars missions: the Raman spectrometer included in the science payload of the ESAs Rosalind Franklin rover (Raman Laser Spectrometer instrument) to be launched in 2022, and the biomarker detector that was included as payload in the NASA Icebreaker lander mission proposal (SOLID instrument). CMOLD is a robust solution that builds on the combination of three complementary, existing techniques to cover a wide spectrum of targets in the search for (bio)chemical complexity in the Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca New York, USA
| | - Javier Gómez-Elvira
- Payload & Space Science Department, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Raquel López Heredero
- Payload & Space Science Department, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Tomás Belenguer
- Payload & Space Science Department, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Andoni G. Moral
- Payload & Space Science Department, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Víctor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
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19
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Cooper ZS, Rapp JZ, Carpenter SD, Iwahana G, Eicken H, Deming JW. Distinctive microbial communities in subzero hypersaline brines from Arctic coastal sea ice and rarely sampled cryopegs. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2020; 95:5593952. [PMID: 31626297 PMCID: PMC6859516 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiz166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypersaline aqueous environments at subzero temperatures are known to be inhabited by microorganisms, yet information on community structure in subzero brines is very limited. Near Utqiaġvik, Alaska, we sampled subzero brines (–6°C, 115–140 ppt) from cryopegs, i.e. unfrozen sediments within permafrost that contain relic (late Pleistocene) seawater brine, as well as nearby sea-ice brines to examine microbial community composition and diversity using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We also quantified the communities microscopically and assessed environmental parameters as possible determinants of community structure. The cryopeg brines harbored surprisingly dense bacterial communities (up to 108 cells mL–1) and millimolar levels of dissolved and particulate organic matter, extracellular polysaccharides and ammonia. Community composition and diversity differed between the two brine environments by alpha- and beta-diversity indices, with cryopeg brine communities appearing less diverse and dominated by one strain of the genus Marinobacter, also detected in other cold, hypersaline environments, including sea ice. The higher density and trend toward lower diversity in the cryopeg communities suggest that long-term stability and other features of a subzero brine are more important selective forces than in situ temperature or salinity, even when the latter are extreme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary S Cooper
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, P.O. Box 357940 Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Josephine Z Rapp
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, P.O. Box 357940 Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Shelly D Carpenter
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, P.O. Box 357940 Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Go Iwahana
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Hajo Eicken
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Jody W Deming
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, P.O. Box 357940 Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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Abstract
There has been considerable attention on how to detect life on other worlds by searching for biomolecules. However, there has been much less clarity as to when it becomes warranted to focus a mission on the search for life on another world. At a minimum, a life-detection mission should follow convincing evidence of (1) Liquid water of suitable salinity, past or present; (2) Carbon in the water; (3) Biologically available N in the water; (4) Biologically useful energy in the water; (5) Organic material that can possibly be of biological origin and a plausible strategy for sampling this material. Based on these prerequisites, the most promising targets for a life search are currently the plume of Enceladus and the subsurface of Mars-in equatorial lake bed sediments and in polar ice-cemented ground. Neither the surface of Europa nor the clouds of Venus meet the criteria listed here but may with further exploration.
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21
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Lezcano MÁ, Moreno-Paz M, Carrizo D, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Fernández-Martínez MÁ, Sánchez-García L, Blanco Y, Puente-Sánchez F, de Diego-Castilla G, García-Villadangos M, Fairén AG, Parro V. Biomarker Profiling of Microbial Mats in the Geothermal Band of Cerro Caliente, Deception Island (Antarctica): Life at the Edge of Heat and Cold. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1490-1504. [PMID: 31339746 PMCID: PMC6918857 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Substrate-atmosphere interfaces in Antarctic geothermal environments are hot-cold regions that constitute thin habitable niches for microorganisms with possible counterparts in ancient Mars. Cerro Caliente hill in Deception Island (active volcano in the South Shetland Islands) is affected by ascending hydrothermal fluids that form a band of warm substrates buffered by low air temperatures. We investigated the influence of temperature on the community structure and metabolism of three microbial mats collected along the geothermal band of Cerro Caliente registering 88°C, 8°C, and 2°C at the time of collection. High-throughput sequencing of small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA) genes and Life Detector Chip (LDChip) microarray immunoassays revealed different bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic composition in the three mats. The mat at 88°C showed the less diverse microbial community and a higher proportion of thermophiles (e.g., Thermales). In contrast, microbial communities in the mats at 2°C and 8°C showed relatively higher diversity and higher proportion of psychrophiles (e.g., Flavobacteriales). Despite this overall association, similar microbial structures at the phylum level (particularly the presence of Cyanobacteria) and certain hot- and cold-tolerant microorganisms were identified in the three mats. Daily thermal oscillations recorded in the substrate over the year (4.5-76°C) may explain the coexistence of microbial fingerprints with different thermal tolerances. Stable isotope composition also revealed metabolic differences among the microbial mats. Carbon isotopic ratios suggested the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle as the major pathway for carbon dioxide fixation in the mats at 2°C and 8°C, and the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle and/or the 3-hydroxypropionate bicycle for the mat at 88°C, indicating different metabolisms as a function of the prevailing temperature of each mat. The comprehensive biomarker profile on the three microbial mats from Cerro Caliente contributes to unravel the diversity, composition, and metabolism in geothermal polar sites and highlights the relevance of geothermal-cold environments to create habitable niches with interest in other planetary environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Ángeles Lezcano
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mercedes Moreno-Paz
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Carrizo
- Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Olga Prieto-Ballesteros
- Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Laura Sánchez-García
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Yolanda Blanco
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Alberto G. Fairén
- Department of Planetology and Habitability, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Víctor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
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22
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Coussot G, Le Postollec A, Faye C, Baqué M, Vandenabeele-Trambouze O, Incerti S, Vigier F, Chaput D, Cottin H, Przybyla B, Berger T, Dobrijevic M. Photochemistry on the Space Station-Antibody Resistance to Space Conditions after Exposure Outside the International Space Station. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1053-1062. [PMID: 30817173 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-based analytical instruments are under development to detect signatures of life on planetary bodies. Antibodies are molecular recognition reagents able to detect their target at sub-nanomolar concentrations, with high affinity and specificity. Studying antibody binding performances under space conditions is mandatory to convince space agencies of the adequacy of this promising tool for planetary exploration. To complement previous ground-based experiments on antibody resistance to simulated irradiation, we evaluate in this paper the effects of antibody exposure to real space conditions during the EXPOSE-R2 mission outside the International Space Station. The absorbed dose of ionizing radiation recorded during the 588 days of this mission (220 mGy) corresponded to the absorbed dose expected during a mission to Mars. Moreover, samples faced, at the same time as irradiation, thermal cycles, launch constraints, and long-term storage. A model biochip was used in this study with antibodies in freeze-dried form and under two formats: free or covalently grafted to a solid surface. We found that antibody-binding performances were not significantly affected by cosmic radiation, and more than 40% of the exposed antibody, independent of its format, was still functional during all this experiment. We conclude that antibody-based instruments are well suited for in situ analysis on planetary bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaëlle Coussot
- 1Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélie Le Postollec
- 2Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Pessac, France
| | | | - Mickaël Baqué
- 4German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Management and Infrastructure, Research Group Astrobiological Laboratories, Berlin, Germany
| | - Odile Vandenabeele-Trambouze
- 5Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), IUEM-UMR 6197, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes (LMEE), Plouzané, France
| | - Sébastien Incerti
- 6Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan (CENBG), UMR 5797, Université de Bordeaux, Gradignan, France
| | | | - Didier Chaput
- 7Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, DCT/ME/EM, Toulouse, France
| | - Hervé Cottin
- 8Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Créteil, France
| | - Bartos Przybyla
- 9German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany
| | - Thomas Berger
- 9German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany
| | - Michel Dobrijevic
- 2Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Pessac, France
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Coussot G, Le Postollec A, Incerti S, Baqué M, Faye C, Vandenabeele-Trambouze O, Cottin H, Ravelet C, Peyrin E, Fiore E, Vigier F, Caron J, Chaput D, Przybyla B, Berger T, Dobrijevic M. Photochemistry on the Space Station-Aptamer Resistance to Space Conditions: Particles Exposure from Irradiation Facilities and Real Exposure Outside the International Space Station. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1063-1074. [PMID: 30817199 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Some microarray-based instruments that use bioaffinity receptors such as antibodies or aptamers are under development to detect signatures of past or present life on planetary bodies. Studying the resistance of such instruments against space constraints and cosmic rays in particular is a prerequisite. We used several ground-based facilities to study the resistance of aptamers to various types of particles (protons, electrons, neutrons, and carbon ions) at different energies and fluences. We also tested the resistance of aptamers during the EXPOSE-R2 mission outside the International Space Station (ISS). The accumulated dose measured after the 588 days of this mission (220 mGy) corresponds to the accumulated dose that can be expected during a mission to Mars. We found that the recognition ability of fluorescently labeled aptamers was not significantly affected during short-term exposure experiments taking into account only one type of radiation at a time. However, we demonstrated that the same fluorescent dye was significantly affected by temperature variations (-21°C to +58°C) and storage throughout the entirety of the ISS experiment (60% of signal loss). This induced a large variability of aptamer signal in our analysis. However, we found that >50% of aptamers were still functional after the whole EXPOSE-R2 mission. We conclude that aptamer-based instruments are well suited for in situ analysis on planetary bodies, but the detection step requires additional investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaëlle Coussot
- 1Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Montpellier, France
| | - Aurélie Le Postollec
- 2Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, Pessac, France
| | - Sébastien Incerti
- 3Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan (CENBG), UMR 5797, Université de Bordeaux, Gradignan, France
| | - Mickaël Baqué
- 4German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Management and Infrastructure, Research Group Astrobiological Laboratories, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Odile Vandenabeele-Trambouze
- 6IUEM-UMR 6197, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes (LMEE), Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Plouzané, France
| | - Hervé Cottin
- 7Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Créteil, France
| | - Corinne Ravelet
- 8Département de Pharmacochimie Moléculaire, UMR 5063, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, St. Martin d'Hères, France
| | - Eric Peyrin
- 8Département de Pharmacochimie Moléculaire, UMR 5063, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, St. Martin d'Hères, France
| | - Emmanuelle Fiore
- 8Département de Pharmacochimie Moléculaire, UMR 5063, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, St. Martin d'Hères, France
| | | | - Jérôme Caron
- 9Département de Radiothérapie, Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bordeaux, France
| | - Didier Chaput
- 10DCT/ME/EM, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
| | - Bartos Przybyla
- 11German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany
| | - Thomas Berger
- 11German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany
| | - Michel Dobrijevic
- 2Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, Pessac, France
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24
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Crisler JD, Chen F, Clark BC, Schneegurt MA. Cultivation and characterization of the bacterial assemblage of epsomic Basque Lake, BC. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2019; 112:1105-1119. [PMID: 30737709 PMCID: PMC6548648 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-019-01244-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Athalassohaline waters that are rich in divalent ions are good analogues for the chemical environments of Mars and the ocean worlds. Sulfate salts, along with chlorides, are important in Mars regolith with Ca, Fe, Mg, and Na counterions. Certain lakes in the Pacific Northwest are saturated with MgSO4 as epsomite. Here we report on the microbial community of Basque Lake, BC, a group of playas that is saturated with MgSO4. More than 60 bacterial isolates were obtained from Basque Lake soils by enrichment culture and repetitive streak-plating using media containing 10% (~ 1.7 M) NaCl or 50% (~ 2 M) MgSO4. Most of the isolates (~ 75%) were Gram-positive, motile, and produced endospores. Isolates related to Marinococcus halophilus and Virgibacillus marismortui dominated the collection. Halomonas and Salinivibrio were Gram-negative genera found at Basque Lake. Nearly all of the Basque Lake isolates grew at 50% MgSO4, with 65% growing at 60% MgSO4. Several isolates could grow in saturated (67%) MgSO4 (aw = 0.90). All of the isolates grew at 10% NaCl with 70% growing at 20% salinity (~ 3.5 M NaCl; aw = 0.82). Basque Lake isolates grew better at basic pH than acidic pH, with 80% growing at pH 9 and 30% growing at pH 10. Only 20% of the isolates grew at pH 5. Numerical taxonomy dendrograms based on 44 phenetic characteristics showed a strong correspondence to phylogenetic trees constructed from 16S rRNA gene sequences. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences from direct DNA extracts of Basque Lake soils recovered predominantly Proteobacteria (60%), Firmicutes (11%), and unclassified bacteria (27%). Microbes capable of growth under the extreme chemical conditions of Mars are a particular concern for forward planetary protection should they contaminate a spacecraft.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Crisler
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University, 26, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
| | - Fei Chen
- Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Mark A Schneegurt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University, 26, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS, 67260, USA.
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25
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Parro V, Puente-Sánchez F, Cabrol NA, Gallardo-Carreño I, Moreno-Paz M, Blanco Y, García-Villadangos M, Tambley C, Tilot VC, Thompson C, Smith E, Sobrón P, Demergasso CS, Echeverría-Vega A, Fernández-Martínez MÁ, Whyte LG, Fairén AG. Microbiology and Nitrogen Cycle in the Benthic Sediments of a Glacial Oligotrophic Deep Andean Lake as Analog of Ancient Martian Lake-Beds. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:929. [PMID: 31130930 PMCID: PMC6509559 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Potential benthic habitats of early Mars lakes, probably oligotrophic, could range from hydrothermal to cold sediments. Dynamic processes in the water column (such as turbidity or UV penetration) as well as in the benthic bed (temperature gradients, turbation, or sedimentation rate) contribute to supply nutrients to a potential microbial ecosystem. High altitude, oligotrophic, and deep Andean lakes with active deglaciation processes and recent or past volcanic activity are natural models to assess the feasibility of life in other planetary lake/ocean environments and to develop technology for their exploration. We sampled the benthic sediments (down to 269 m depth) of the oligotrophic lake Laguna Negra (Central Andes, Chile) to investigate its ecosystem through geochemical, biomarker profiling, and molecular ecology studies. The chemistry of the benthic water was similar to the rest of the water column, except for variable amounts of ammonium (up to 2.8 ppm) and nitrate (up to 0.13 ppm). A life detector chip with a 300-antibody microarray revealed the presence of biomass in the form of exopolysaccharides and other microbial markers associated to several phylogenetic groups and potential microaerobic and anaerobic metabolisms such as nitrate reduction. DNA analyses showed that 27% of the Archaea sequences corresponded to a group of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) similar (97%) to Nitrosopumilus spp. and Nitrosoarchaeum spp. (Thaumarchaeota), and 4% of Bacteria sequences to nitrite-oxidizing bacteria from the Nitrospira genus, suggesting a coupling between ammonia and nitrite oxidation. Mesocosm experiments with the specific AOA inhibitor 2-Phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide (PTIO) demonstrated an AOA-associated ammonia oxidation activity with the simultaneous accumulation of nitrate and sulfate. The results showed a rich benthic microbial community dominated by microaerobic and anaerobic metabolisms thriving under aphotic, low temperature (4°C), and relatively high pressure, that might be a suitable terrestrial analog of other planetary settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Nathalie A. Cabrol
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, CA, United States
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Virginie C. Tilot
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Málaga, Spain
- Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Cody Thompson
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Eric Smith
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, CA, United States
| | - Pablo Sobrón
- SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, CA, United States
| | | | - Alex Echeverría-Vega
- Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
- Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | | | - Lyle G. Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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26
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Huwe B, Fiedler A, Moritz S, Rabbow E, de Vera JP, Joshi J. Mosses in Low Earth Orbit: Implications for the Limits of Life and the Habitability of Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:221-232. [PMID: 30742499 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
As a part of the European Space Agency mission "EXPOSE-R2" on the International Space Station (ISS), the BIOMEX (Biology and Mars Experiment) experiment investigates the habitability of Mars and the limits of life. In preparation for the mission, experimental verification tests and scientific verification tests simulating different combinations of abiotic space- and Mars-like conditions were performed to analyze the resistance of a range of model organisms. The simulated abiotic space- and Mars-stressors were extreme temperatures, vacuum, and Mars-like surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in different atmospheres. We present for the first time simulated space exposure data of mosses using plantlets of the bryophyte genus Grimmia, which is adapted to high altitudinal extreme abiotic conditions at the Swiss Alps. Our preflight tests showed that severe UVR200-400nm irradiation with the maximal dose of 5 and 6.8 × 105 kJ·m-2, respectively, was the only stressor with a negative impact on the vitality with a 37% (terrestrial atmosphere) or 36% reduction (space- and Mars-like atmospheres) in photosynthetic activity. With every exposure to UVR200-400nm 105 kJ·m-2, the vitality of the bryophytes dropped by 6%. No effect was found, however, by any other stressor. As the mosses were still vital after doses of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) expected during the EXPOSE-R2 mission on ISS, we show that this earliest extant lineage of land plants is highly resistant to extreme abiotic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Huwe
- 1 Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Annelie Fiedler
- 1 Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sophie Moritz
- 1 Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Elke Rabbow
- 2 Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany
| | - Jean Pierre de Vera
- 3 Astrobiological Laboratories, Management and Infrastructure, Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany
| | - Jasmin Joshi
- 1 Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- 4 Institute for Landscape and Open Space, Hochschule für Technik HSR Rapperswil, Rapperswil, Switzerland
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27
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Sanchez-Garcia L, Fernandez-Martinez MA, García-Villadangos M, Blanco Y, Cady SL, Hinman N, Bowden ME, Pointing SB, Lee KC, Warren-Rhodes K, Lacap-Bugler D, Cabrol NA, Parro V, Carrizo D. Microbial Biomarker Transition in High-Altitude Sinter Mounds From El Tatio (Chile) Through Different Stages of Hydrothermal Activity. Front Microbiol 2019; 9:3350. [PMID: 30697206 PMCID: PMC6340942 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Geothermal springs support microbial communities at elevated temperatures in an ecosystem with high preservation potential that makes them interesting analogs for early evolution of the biogeosphere. The El Tatio geysers field in the Atacama Desert has astrobiological relevance due to the unique occurrence of geothermal features with steep hydrothermal gradients in an otherwise high altitude, hyper-arid environment. We present here results of our multidisciplinary field and molecular study of biogeochemical evidence for habitability and preservation in silica sinter at El Tatio. We sampled three morphologically similar geyser mounds characterized by differences in water activity (i.e., episodic liquid water, steam, and inactive geyser lacking hydrothermal activity). Multiple approaches were employed to determine (past and present) biological signatures and dominant metabolism. Lipid biomarkers indicated relative abundance of thermophiles (dicarboxylic acids) and sulfate reducing bacteria (branched carboxylic acids) in the sinter collected from the liquid water mound; photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria (alkanes and isoprenoids) in the steam sinter mound; and archaea (squalane and crocetane) as well as purple sulfur bacteria (cyclopropyl acids) in the dry sinter from the inactive geyser. The three sinter structures preserved biosignatures representative of primary (thermophilic) and secondary (including endoliths and environmental contaminants) microbial communities. Sequencing of environmental 16S rRNA genes and immuno-assays generally corroborated the lipid-based microbial identification. The multiplex immunoassays and the compound-specific isotopic analysis of carboxylic acids, alkanols, and alkanes indicated that the principal microbial pathway for carbon fixation in the three sinter mounds was through the Calvin cycle, with a relative larger contribution of the reductive acetyl-CoA pathway in the dry system. Other inferred metabolic traits varied from the liquid mound (iron and sulfur chemistry), to the steam mound (nitrogen cycle), to the dry mound (perchlorate reduction). The combined results revealed different stages of colonization that reflect differences in the lifetime of the mounds, where primary communities dominated the biosignatures preserved in sinters from the still active geysers (liquid and steam mounds), in contrast to the surviving metabolisms and microbial communities at the end of lifetime of the inactive geothermal mound.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Sherry L Cady
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States
| | - Nancy Hinman
- Department of Geosciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States
| | - Mark E Bowden
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States
| | - Stephen B Pointing
- Yale-NUS College, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kevin C Lee
- School of Science, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Kimberly Warren-Rhodes
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, United States.,NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
| | | | - Nathalie A Cabrol
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, United States.,NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
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28
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Blanco Y, de Diego-Castilla G, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Cavalcante-Silva E, Rodríguez-Manfredi JA, Davila AF, McKay CP, Parro V. Effects of Gamma and Electron Radiation on the Structural Integrity of Organic Molecules and Macromolecular Biomarkers Measured by Microarray Immunoassays and Their Astrobiological Implications. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1497-1516. [PMID: 30070898 PMCID: PMC6276817 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
High-energy ionizing radiation in the form of solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays is pervasive on the surface of planetary bodies with thin atmospheres or in space facilities for humans, and it may seriously affect the chemistry and the structure of organic and biological material. We used fluorescent microarray immunoassays to assess how different doses of electron and gamma radiations affect the stability of target compounds such as biological polymers and small molecules (haptens) conjugated to large proteins. The radiation effect was monitored by measuring the loss in the immunoidentification of the target due to an impaired ability of the antibodies for binding their corresponding irradiated and damaged epitopes (the part of the target molecule to which antibodies bind). Exposure to electron radiation alone was more damaging at low doses (1 kGy) than exposure to gamma radiation alone, but this effect was reversed at the highest radiation dose (500 kGy). Differences in the dose-effect immunoidentification patterns suggested that the amount (dose) and not the type of radiation was the main factor for the cumulative damage on the majority of the assayed molecules. Molecules irradiated with both types of radiation showed a response similar to that of the individual treatments at increasing radiation doses, although the pattern obtained with electrons only was the most similar. The calculated radiolysis constant did not show a unique pattern; it rather suggested a different behavior perhaps associated with the unique structure of each molecule. Although not strictly comparable with extraterrestrial conditions because the irradiations were performed under air and at room temperature, our results may contribute to understanding the effects of ionizing radiation on complex molecules and the search for biomarkers through bioaffinity-based systems in planetary exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Blanco
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Graciela de Diego-Castilla
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Erika Cavalcante-Silva
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alfonso F. Davila
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Christopher P. McKay
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Victor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
- Address correspondence to: Victor Parro, Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid 28850, Spain
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Inner Workings: Hunting for microbial life throughout the solar system. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:11348-11350. [PMID: 30401758 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1816535115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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McMahon S, Bosak T, Grotzinger JP, Milliken RE, Summons RE, Daye M, Newman SA, Fraeman A, Williford KH, Briggs DEG. A Field Guide to Finding Fossils on Mars. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2018; 123:1012-1040. [PMID: 30034979 PMCID: PMC6049883 DOI: 10.1029/2017je005478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The Martian surface is cold, dry, exposed to biologically harmful radiation and apparently barren today. Nevertheless, there is clear geological evidence for warmer, wetter intervals in the past that could have supported life at or near the surface. This evidence has motivated National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency to prioritize the search for any remains or traces of organisms from early Mars in forthcoming missions. Informed by (1) stratigraphic, mineralogical and geochemical data collected by previous and current missions, (2) Earth's fossil record, and (3) experimental studies of organic decay and preservation, we here consider whether, how, and where fossils and isotopic biosignatures could have been preserved in the depositional environments and mineralizing media thought to have been present in habitable settings on early Mars. We conclude that Noachian-Hesperian Fe-bearing clay-rich fluvio-lacustrine siliciclastic deposits, especially where enriched in silica, currently represent the most promising and best understood astropaleontological targets. Siliceous sinters would also be an excellent target, but their presence on Mars awaits confirmation. More work is needed to improve our understanding of fossil preservation in the context of other environments specific to Mars, particularly within evaporative salts and pore/fracture-filling subsurface minerals.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. McMahon
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsYale UniversityNew HavenCTUSA
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - T. Bosak
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - J. P. Grotzinger
- Division of Geological and Planetary SciencesCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - R. E. Milliken
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary SciencesBrown UniversityProvidenceRIUSA
| | - R. E. Summons
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - M. Daye
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - S. A. Newman
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | - A. Fraeman
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - K. H. Williford
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - D. E. G. Briggs
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsYale UniversityNew HavenCTUSA
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Fairén AG, Parro V, Schulze-Makuch D, Whyte L. Is Searching for Martian Life a Priority for the Mars Community? ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:101-107. [PMID: 29359967 PMCID: PMC5820680 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Dirk Schulze-Makuch
- Center of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Lyle Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada
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Rummel JD, Conley CA. Inadvertently Finding Earth Contamination on Mars Should Not Be a Priority for Anyone. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:108-115. [PMID: 29451824 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
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Cabrol NA. The Coevolution of Life and Environment on Mars: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Robotic Exploration of Biosignatures. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1-27. [PMID: 29252008 PMCID: PMC5779243 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Earth's biological and environmental evolution are intertwined and inseparable. This coevolution has become a fundamental concept in astrobiology and is key to the search for life beyond our planet. In the case of Mars, whether a coevolution took place is unknown, but analyzing the factors at play shows the uniqueness of each planetary experiment regardless of similarities. Early Earth and early Mars shared traits. However, biological processes on Mars, if any, would have had to proceed within the distinctive context of an irreversible atmospheric collapse, greater climate variability, and specific planetary characteristics. In that, Mars is an important test bed for comparing the effects of a unique set of spatiotemporal changes on an Earth-like, yet different, planet. Many questions remain unanswered about Mars' early environment. Nevertheless, existing data sets provide a foundation for an intellectual framework where notional coevolution models can be explored. In this framework, the focus is shifted from planetary-scale habitability to the prospect of habitats, microbial ecotones, pathways to biological dispersal, biomass repositories, and their meaning for exploration. Critically, as we search for biosignatures, this focus demonstrates the importance of starting to think of early Mars as a biosphere and vigorously integrating an ecosystem approach to landing site selection and exploration. Key Words: Astrobiology-Biosignatures-Coevolution of Earth and life-Mars. Astrobiology 18, 1-27.
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McKay CP, Andersen D, Davila A. Antarctic environments as models of planetary habitats: University Valley as a model for modern Mars and Lake Untersee as a model for Enceladus and ancient Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/2154896x.2017.1383705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Dale Andersen
- Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, USA
| | - Alfonso Davila
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, USA
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Raack J, Conway SJ, Herny C, Balme MR, Carpy S, Patel MR. Water induced sediment levitation enhances downslope transport on Mars. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1151. [PMID: 29075001 PMCID: PMC5658360 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01213-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
On Mars, locally warm surface temperatures (~293 K) occur, leading to the possibility of (transient) liquid water on the surface. However, water exposed to the martian atmosphere will boil, and the sediment transport capacity of such unstable water is not well understood. Here, we present laboratory studies of a newly recognized transport mechanism: “levitation” of saturated sediment bodies on a cushion of vapor released by boiling. Sediment transport where this mechanism is active is about nine times greater than without this effect, reducing the amount of water required to transport comparable sediment volumes by nearly an order of magnitude. Our calculations show that the effect of levitation could persist up to ~48 times longer under reduced martian gravity. Sediment levitation must therefore be considered when evaluating the formation of recent and present-day martian mass wasting features, as much less water may be required to form such features than previously thought. Downslope sediment transport on Mars is reported, but the transport capacity of unstable water under low pressures is not well understood. Here, the authors present a newly discovered, highly reactive transportation mechanism that is only possible under low pressure environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Raack
- School of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.
| | - Susan J Conway
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique-UMR CNRS 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière-BP 92208, 44322, Nantes Cedex 3, France
| | - Clémence Herny
- Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Matthew R Balme
- School of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Sabrina Carpy
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique-UMR CNRS 6112, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière-BP 92208, 44322, Nantes Cedex 3, France
| | - Manish R Patel
- School of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.,Space Science and Technology Department, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
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Fairén AG, Parro V, Schulze-Makuch D, Whyte L. Searching for Life on Mars Before It Is Too Late. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:962-970. [PMID: 28885042 PMCID: PMC5655416 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Decades of robotic exploration have confirmed that in the distant past, Mars was warmer and wetter and its surface was habitable. However, none of the spacecraft missions to Mars have included among their scientific objectives the exploration of Special Regions, those places on the planet that could be inhabited by extant martian life or where terrestrial microorganisms might replicate. A major reason for this is because of Planetary Protection constraints, which are implemented to protect Mars from terrestrial biological contamination. At the same time, plans are being drafted to send humans to Mars during the 2030 decade, both from international space agencies and the private sector. We argue here that these two parallel strategies for the exploration of Mars (i.e., delaying any efforts for the biological reconnaissance of Mars during the next two or three decades and then directly sending human missions to the planet) demand reconsideration because once an astronaut sets foot on Mars, Planetary Protection policies as we conceive them today will no longer be valid as human arrival will inevitably increase the introduction of terrestrial and organic contaminants and that could jeopardize the identification of indigenous martian life. In this study, we advocate for reassessment over the relationships between robotic searches, paying increased attention to proactive astrobiological investigation and sampling of areas more likely to host indigenous life, and fundamentally doing this in advance of manned missions. Key Words: Contamination-Earth Mars-Planetary Protection-Search for life (biosignatures). Astrobiology 17, 962-970.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto G. Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain
| | - Dirk Schulze-Makuch
- Center of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California
| | - Lyle Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Québec, Canada
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37
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Rizzo V, Cantasano N. Structural parallels between terrestrial microbialites and Martian sediments: are all cases of ‘Pareidolia’? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 16:297-316. [DOI: 10.1017/s1473550416000355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe study analyses possible parallels of the microbialite-known structures with a set of similar settings selected by a systematic investigation from the wide record and data set of images shot by NASA rovers. Terrestrial cases involve structures both due to bio-mineralization processes and those induced by bacterial metabolism, that occur in a dimensional field longer than 0.1 mm, at micro, meso and macro scales. The study highlights occurrence on Martian sediments of widespread structures like microspherules, often organized into some higher-order settings. Such structures also occur on terrestrial stromatolites in a great variety of ‘Microscopic Induced Sedimentary Structures’, such as voids, gas domes and layer deformations of microbial mats. We present a suite of analogies so compelling (i.e. different scales of morphological, structural and conceptual relevance), to make the case that similarities between Martian sediment structures and terrestrial microbialites are not all cases of ‘Pareidolia’.
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Gentry DM, Amador ES, Cable ML, Chaudry N, Cullen T, Jacobsen MB, Murukesan G, Schwieterman EW, Stevens AH, Stockton A, Tan G, Yin C, Cullen DC, Geppert W. Correlations Between Life-Detection Techniques and Implications for Sampling Site Selection in Planetary Analog Missions. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:1009-1021. [PMID: 29048222 PMCID: PMC5686451 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We conducted an analog sampling expedition under simulated mission constraints to areas dominated by basaltic tephra of the Eldfell and Fimmvörðuháls lava fields (Iceland). Sites were selected to be "homogeneous" at a coarse remote sensing resolution (10-100 m) in apparent color, morphology, moisture, and grain size, with best-effort realism in numbers of locations and replicates. Three different biomarker assays (counting of nucleic-acid-stained cells via fluorescent microscopy, a luciferin/luciferase assay for adenosine triphosphate, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect DNA associated with bacteria, archaea, and fungi) were characterized at four nested spatial scales (1 m, 10 m, 100 m, and >1 km) by using five common metrics for sample site representativeness (sample mean variance, group F tests, pairwise t tests, and the distribution-free rank sum H and u tests). Correlations between all assays were characterized with Spearman's rank test. The bioluminescence assay showed the most variance across the sites, followed by qPCR for bacterial and archaeal DNA; these results could not be considered representative at the finest resolution tested (1 m). Cell concentration and fungal DNA also had significant local variation, but they were homogeneous over scales of >1 km. These results show that the selection of life detection assays and the number, distribution, and location of sampling sites in a low biomass environment with limited a priori characterization can yield both contrasting and complementary results, and that their interdependence must be given due consideration to maximize science return in future biomarker sampling expeditions. Key Words: Astrobiology-Biodiversity-Microbiology-Iceland-Planetary exploration-Mars mission simulation-Biomarker. Astrobiology 17, 1009-1021.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M. Gentry
- Biospheric Science, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
| | - Elena S. Amador
- Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Morgan L. Cable
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
| | - Nosheen Chaudry
- School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Cullen
- School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Gayathri Murukesan
- Department of Biochemistry/Biochemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Adam H. Stevens
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda Stockton
- School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - George Tan
- School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Chang Yin
- Stockholm University Astrobiology Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David C. Cullen
- School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
| | - Wolf Geppert
- Stockholm University Astrobiology Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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39
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Blanco Y, Moreno-Paz M, Parro V. Experimental Protocol for Detecting Cyanobacteria in Liquid and Solid Samples with an Antibody Microarray Chip. J Vis Exp 2017. [PMID: 28287562 DOI: 10.3791/54994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Global warming and eutrophication make some aquatic ecosystems behave as true bioreactors that trigger rapid and massive cyanobacterial growth; this has relevant health and economic consequences. Many cyanobacterial strains are toxin producers, and only a few cells are necessary to induce irreparable damage to the environment. Therefore, water-body authorities and administrations require rapid and efficient early-warning systems providing reliable data to support their preventive or curative decisions. This manuscript reports an experimental protocol for the in-field detection of toxin-producing cyanobacterial strains by using an antibody microarray chip with 17 antibodies (Abs) with taxonomic resolution (CYANOCHIP). Here, a multiplex fluorescent sandwich microarray immunoassay (FSMI) for the simultaneous monitoring of 17 cyanobacterial strains frequently found blooming in freshwater ecosystems, some of them toxin producers, is described. A microarray with multiple identical replicates (up to 24) of the CYANOCHIP was printed onto a single microscope slide to simultaneously test a similar number of samples. Liquid samples can be tested either by direct incubation with the antibodies (Abs) or after cell concentration by filtration through a 1- to 3-μm filter. Solid samples, such as sediments and ground rocks, are first homogenized and dispersed by a hand-held ultrasonicator in an incubation buffer. They are then filtered (5 - 20 μm) to remove the coarse material, and the filtrate is incubated with Abs. Immunoreactions are revealed by a final incubation with a mixture of the 17 fluorescence-labeled Abs and are read by a portable fluorescence detector. The whole process takes around 3 h, most of it corresponding to two 1-h periods of incubation. The output is an image, where bright spots correspond to the positive detection of cyanobacterial markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Blanco
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, INTA-CSIC)
| | | | - Victor Parro
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, INTA-CSIC);
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Colangelo-Lillis J, Eicken H, Carpenter SD, Deming JW. Evidence for marine origin and microbial-viral habitability of sub-zero hypersaline aqueous inclusions within permafrost near Barrow, Alaska. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2016; 92:fiw053. [PMID: 26976841 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiw053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryopegs are sub-surface hypersaline brines at sub-zero temperatures within permafrost; their global extent and distribution are unknown. The permafrost barrier to surface and groundwater advection maintains these brines as semi-isolated systems over geological time. A cryopeg 7 m below ground near Barrow, Alaska, was sampled for geochemical and microbiological analysis. Sub-surface brines (in situtemperature of -6 °C, salinity of 115 ppt), and an associated sediment-infused ice wedge (melt salinity of 0.04 ppt) were sampled using sterile technique. Major ionic concentrations in the brine corresponded more closely to other (Siberian) cryopegs than to Standard seawater or the ice wedge. Ionic ratios and stable isotope analysis of water conformed to a marine or brackish origin with subsequent Rayleigh fractionation. The brine contained ∼1000× more bacteria than surrounding ice, relatively high viral numbers suggestive of infection and reproduction, and an unusually high ratio of particulate to dissolved extracellular polysaccharide substances. A viral metagenome indicated a high frequency of temperate viruses and limited viral diversity compared to surface environments, with closest similarity to low water activity environments. Interpretations of the results underscore the isolation of these underexplored microbial ecosystems from past and present oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Colangelo-Lillis
- School of Oceanography and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - H Eicken
- International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - S D Carpenter
- School of Oceanography and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - J W Deming
- School of Oceanography and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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Abstract
The evolution of habitable conditions on Mars is often tied to the existence of aquatic habitats and largely constrained to the first billion years of the planet. Here, we propose an alternate, lasting evolutionary trajectory that assumes the colonization of land habitats before the end of the Hesperian period (ca. 3 billion years ago) at a pace similar to life on Earth. Based on the ecological adaptations to increasing dryness observed in dryland ecosystems on Earth, we reconstruct the most likely sequence of events leading to a late extinction of land communities on Mars. We propose a trend of ecological change with increasing dryness from widespread edaphic communities to localized lithic communities and finally to communities exclusively found in hygroscopic substrates, reflecting the need for organisms to maximize access to atmospheric sources of water. If our thought process is correct, it implies the possibility of life on Mars until relatively recent times, perhaps even the present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso F Davila
- 1 Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute , Mountain View, California, USA
- 2 NASA Ames Research Center , Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Dirk Schulze-Makuch
- 3 School of the Environment, Washington State University , Pullman, Washington, USA
- 4 Center of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University Berlin , Berlin, Germany
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42
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Lindensmith CA, Rider S, Bedrossian M, Wallace JK, Serabyn E, Showalter GM, Deming JW, Nadeau JL. A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0147700. [PMID: 26812683 PMCID: PMC4728210 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea ice is an analog environment for several of astrobiology’s near-term targets: Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and perhaps other Jovian or Saturnian moons. Microorganisms, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, remain active within brine channels inside the ice, making it unnecessary to penetrate through to liquid water below in order to detect life. We have developed a submersible digital holographic microscope (DHM) that is capable of resolving individual bacterial cells, and demonstrated its utility for immediately imaging samples taken directly from sea ice at several locations near Nuuk, Greenland. In all samples, the appearance and motility of eukaryotes were conclusive signs of life. The appearance of prokaryotic cells alone was not sufficient to confirm life, but when prokaryotic motility occurred, it was rapid and conclusive. Warming the samples to above-freezing temperatures or supplementing with serine increased the number of motile cells and the speed of motility; supplementing with serine also stimulated chemotaxis. These results show that DHM is a useful technique for detection of active organisms in extreme environments, and that motility may be used as a biosignature in the liquid brines that persist in ice. These findings have important implications for the design of missions to icy environments and suggest ways in which DHM imaging may be integrated with chemical life-detection suites in order to create more conclusive life detection packages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian A. Lindensmith
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
| | - Stephanie Rider
- Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
| | - Manuel Bedrossian
- Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
| | - J. Kent Wallace
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
| | - Eugene Serabyn
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
| | - G. Max Showalter
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States of America
| | - Jody W. Deming
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States of America
| | - Jay L. Nadeau
- Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Carbon monoxide as a metabolic energy source for extremely halophilic microbes: implications for microbial activity in Mars regolith. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:4465-70. [PMID: 25831529 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1424989112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbon monoxide occurs at relatively high concentrations (≥800 parts per million) in Mars' atmosphere, where it represents a potentially significant energy source that could fuel metabolism by a localized putative surface or near-surface microbiota. However, the plausibility of CO oxidation under conditions relevant for Mars in its past or at present has not been evaluated. Results from diverse terrestrial brines and saline soils provide the first documentation, to our knowledge, of active CO uptake at water potentials (-41 MPa to -117 MPa) that might occur in putative brines at recurrent slope lineae (RSL) on Mars. Results from two extremely halophilic isolates complement the field observations. Halorubrum str. BV1, isolated from the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah (to our knowledge, the first documented extremely halophilic CO-oxidizing member of the Euryarchaeota), consumed CO in a salt-saturated medium with a water potential of -39.6 MPa; activity was reduced by only 28% relative to activity at its optimum water potential of -11 MPa. A proteobacterial isolate from hypersaline Mono Lake, California, Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii MLHE-1, also oxidized CO at low water potentials (-19 MPa), at temperatures within ranges reported for RSL, and under oxic, suboxic (0.2% oxygen), and anoxic conditions (oxygen-free with nitrate). MLHE-1 was unaffected by magnesium perchlorate or low atmospheric pressure (10 mbar). These results collectively establish the potential for microbial CO oxidation under conditions that might obtain at local scales (e.g., RSL) on contemporary Mars and at larger spatial scales earlier in Mars' history.
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Blanco Y, Quesada A, Gallardo-Carreño I, Aguirre J, Parro V. CYANOCHIP: an antibody microarray for high-taxonomical-resolution cyanobacterial monitoring. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2015; 49:1611-1620. [PMID: 25565212 DOI: 10.1021/es5051106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are Gram-negative photosynthetic prokaryotes that are widespread on Earth. Eutrophication and global warming make some aquatic ecosystems behave as bioreactors that trigger rapid and massive cyanobacterial growth with remarkable economic and health consequences. Rapid and efficient early warning systems are required to support decisions by water body authorities. We have produced 17 specific antibodies to the most frequent cyanobacterial strains blooming in freshwater ecosystems, some of which are toxin producers. A sandwich-type antibody microarray immunoassay (CYANOCHIP) was developed for the simultaneous testing of any of the 17 strains, or other closely related strains, in field samples from different habitats (water, rocks, and sediments). We titrated and tested all of the antibodies in succession using a fluorescent sandwich microarray immunoassay. Although most showed high specificity, we applied a deconvolution method based on graph theory to disentangle the few existing cross-reactions. The CYANOCHIP sensitivity ranged from 10(2) to 10(4) cells mL(-1), with most antibodies detecting approximately 10(2) cells mL(-1). We validated the system by testing multiple isolates and crude natural samples from freshwater reservoirs and rocks, both in the laboratory and by in situ testing in the field. The results demonstrated that CYANOCHIP is a valuable tool for the sensitive and reliable detection of cyanobacteria for early warning and research purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda Blanco
- Department of Molecular Evolution, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) , Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
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Thiel CS, Tauber S, Schütte A, Schmitz B, Nuesse H, Moeller R, Ullrich O. Functional activity of plasmid DNA after entry into the atmosphere of earth investigated by a new biomarker stability assay for ballistic spaceflight experiments. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112979. [PMID: 25426925 PMCID: PMC4245111 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sounding rockets represent an excellent platform for testing the influence of space conditions during the passage of Earth's atmosphere and re-entry on biological, physical and chemical experiments for astrobiological purposes. We designed a robust functionality biomarker assay to analyze the biological effects of suborbital spaceflights prevailing during ballistic rocket flights. During the TEXUS-49 rocket mission in March 2011, artificial plasmid DNA carrying a fluorescent marker (enhanced green fluorescent protein: EGFP) and an antibiotic resistance cassette (kanamycin/neomycin) was attached on different positions of rocket exterior; (i) circular every 90 degree on the outer surface concentrical of the payload, (ii) in the grooves of screw heads located in between the surface application sites, and (iii) on the surface of the bottom side of the payload. Temperature measurements showed two major peaks at 118 and 130°C during the 780 seconds lasting flight on the inside of the recovery module, while outer gas temperatures of more than 1000°C were estimated on the sample application locations. Directly after retrieval and return transport of the payload, the plasmid DNA samples were recovered. Subsequent analyses showed that DNA could be recovered from all application sites with a maximum of 53% in the grooves of the screw heads. We could further show that up to 35% of DNA retained its full biological function, i.e., mediating antibiotic resistance in bacteria and fluorescent marker expression in eukariotic cells. These experiments show that our plasmid DNA biomarker assay is suitable to characterize the environmental conditions affecting DNA during an atmospheric transit and the re-entry and constitute the first report of the stability of DNA during hypervelocity atmospheric transit indicating that sounding rocket flights can be used to model the high-speed atmospheric entry of organics-laden artificial meteorites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cora S. Thiel
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (CT); (OU)
| | - Svantje Tauber
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Harald Nuesse
- Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Muenster, Münster, Germany
| | - Ralf Moeller
- German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Research Group Astrobiology, Linder Hoehe, Cologne (Köln), Germany
| | - Oliver Ullrich
- Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Machine Design, Engineering Design and Product Development, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (CT); (OU)
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Baqué M, Verseux C, Rabbow E, de Vera JPP, Billi D. Detection of macromolecules in desert cyanobacteria mixed with a lunar mineral analogue after space simulations. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2014; 44:209-21. [PMID: 25351683 PMCID: PMC4669540 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-014-9367-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In the context of future exposure missions in Low Earth Orbit and possibly on the Moon, two desert strains of the cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis, strains CCMEE 029 and 057, mixed or not with a lunar mineral analogue, were exposed to fractionated fluencies of UVC and polychromatic UV (200–400 nm) and to space vacuum. These experiments were carried out within the framework of the BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment) project, which aims at broadening our knowledge of mineral-microorganism interaction and the stability/degradation of their macromolecules when exposed to space and simulated Martian conditions. The presence of mineral analogues provided a protective effect, preserving survivability and integrity of DNA and photosynthetic pigments, as revealed by testing colony-forming abilities, performing PCR-based assays and using confocal laser scanning microscopy. In particular, DNA and pigments were still detectable after 500 kJ/m2 of polychromatic UV and space vacuum (10−4 Pa), corresponding to conditions expected during one-year exposure in Low Earth Orbit on board the EXPOSE-R2 platform in the presence of 0.1 % Neutral Density (ND) filter. After exposure to high UV fluencies (800 MJ/m2) in the presence of minerals, however, altered fluorescence emission spectrum of the photosynthetic pigments were detected, whereas DNA was still amplified by PCR. The present paper considers the implications of such findings for the detection of biosignatures in extraterrestrial conditions and for putative future lunar missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mickael Baqué
- />Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
| | - Cyprien Verseux
- />Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
| | - Elke Rabbow
- />Radiation Biology Department, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Daniela Billi
- />Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
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Georgiou CD, Deamer DW. Lipids as universal biomarkers of extraterrestrial life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:541-9. [PMID: 24735484 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.1134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In 1965, James Lovelock published a general statement, based on thermodynamic chemical equilibrium principles, about how to detect extant or extinct life on a planet other than Earth. Nearly 50 years later, it is possible to make such measurements with robotic missions such as current and future Mars rovers, and probes to sample icy plumes of Enceladus or Europa. We make a specific recommendation that certain characteristic patterns in the composition of lipid hydrocarbons can only result from a biological process, because the signal arises from a universal requirement related to lipid bilayer fluidity and membrane stability. Furthermore, the pattern can be preserved over millions of years, and instrumentation is already available to be incorporated into flight missions.
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Zakharova K, Marzban G, de Vera JP, Lorek A, Sterflinger K. Protein patterns of black fungi under simulated Mars-like conditions. Sci Rep 2014; 4:5114. [PMID: 24870977 PMCID: PMC4037706 DOI: 10.1038/srep05114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Two species of microcolonial fungi – Cryomyces antarcticus and Knufia perforans - and a species of black yeasts–Exophiala jeanselmei - were exposed to thermo-physical Mars-like conditions in the simulation chamber of the German Aerospace Center. In this study the alterations at the protein expression level from various fungi species under Mars-like conditions were analyzed for the first time using 2D gel electrophoresis. Despite of the expectations, the fungi did not express any additional proteins under Mars simulation that could be interpreted as stress induced HSPs. However, up-regulation of some proteins and significant decreasing of protein number were detected within the first 24 hours of the treatment. After 4 and 7 days of the experiment protein spot number was increased again and the protein patterns resemble the protein patterns of biomass from normal conditions. It indicates the recovery of the metabolic activity under Martian environmental conditions after one week of exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Zakharova
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Muthgasse 18, A - 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gorji Marzban
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Muthgasse 18, A - 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jean-Pierre de Vera
- German Aerospace Center, Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Lorek
- German Aerospace Center, Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Sterflinger
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Muthgasse 18, A - 1190 Vienna, Austria
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Groemer G, Sattler B, Weisleitner K, Hunger L, Kohstall C, Frisch A, Józefowicz M, Meszyński S, Storrie-Lombardi M, Bothe C, Boyd A, Dinkelaker A, Dissertori M, Fasching D, Fischer M, Föger D, Foresta L, Frischauf N, Fritsch L, Fuchs H, Gautsch C, Gerard S, Goetzloff L, Gołebiowska I, Gorur P, Groemer G, Groll P, Haider C, Haider O, Hauth E, Hauth S, Hettrich S, Jais W, Jones N, Taj-Eddine K, Karl A, Kauerhoff T, Khan MS, Kjeldsen A, Klauck J, Losiak A, Luger M, Luger T, Luger U, McArthur J, Moser L, Neuner J, Orgel C, Ori GG, Paternesi R, Peschier J, Pfeil I, Prock S, Radinger J, Ragonig C, Ramirez B, Ramo W, Rampey M, Sams A, Sams E, Sams S, Sandu O, Sans A, Sansone P, Scheer D, Schildhammer D, Scornet Q, Sejkora N, Soucek A, Stadler A, Stummer F, Stumptner W, Taraba M, Tlustos R, Toferer E, Turetschek T, Winter E, Zanella-Kux K. Field trial of a dual-wavelength fluorescent emission (L.I.F.E.) instrument and the Magma White rover during the MARS2013 Mars analog mission. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:391-405. [PMID: 24823800 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.1081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract We have developed a portable dual-wavelength laser fluorescence spectrometer as part of a multi-instrument optical probe to characterize mineral, organic, and microbial species in extreme environments. Operating at 405 and 532 nm, the instrument was originally designed for use by human explorers to produce a laser-induced fluorescence emission (L.I.F.E.) spectral database of the mineral and organic molecules found in the microbial communities of Earth's cryosphere. Recently, our team had the opportunity to explore the strengths and limitations of the instrument when it was deployed on a remote-controlled Mars analog rover. In February 2013, the instrument was deployed on board the Magma White rover platform during the MARS2013 Mars analog field mission in the Kess Kess formation near Erfoud, Morocco. During these tests, we followed tele-science work flows pertinent to Mars surface missions in a simulated spaceflight environment. We report on the L.I.F.E. instrument setup, data processing, and performance during field trials. A pilot postmission laboratory analysis determined that rock samples acquired during the field mission exhibited a fluorescence signal from the Sun-exposed side characteristic of chlorophyll a following excitation at 405 nm. A weak fluorescence response to excitation at 532 nm may have originated from another microbial photosynthetic pigment, phycoerythrin, but final assignment awaits development of a comprehensive database of mineral and organic fluorescence spectra. No chlorophyll fluorescence signal was detected from the shaded underside of the samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gernot Groemer
- 1 Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, Austria
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