A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog
Ph.D. Astrobiology is the study of the “living universe,” which includes the study of the origin of lifeas well as its evolution and distribution on Earth and beyond. Prime candidates for alien life include the icy moons of the outer planets, particularly those with a geological or tidal source for...
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ftgeorgetownuniv:oai:repository.library.georgetown.edu:10822/1068355 2023-10-09T21:47:04+02:00 A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog Wagner, Nicole Yasmin Johnson, Sarah S 2022 PDF 132 leaves http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1068355 en eng Georgetown University http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1068355 orcid:0000-0001-9196-8903 Georgetown University-Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Biology Ancient DNA Antarctica Biosignatures Extreme Environments Metagenomics Microbiome Biology Microbiology Bioinformatics thesis 2022 ftgeorgetownuniv 2023-09-12T20:37:21Z Ph.D. Astrobiology is the study of the “living universe,” which includes the study of the origin of lifeas well as its evolution and distribution on Earth and beyond. Prime candidates for alien life include the icy moons of the outer planets, particularly those with a geological or tidal source for thermal energy as well as Mars, which is widely thought to have had conditions conducive to life billions of years ago with biosignatures, or traces of life, potentially still present. To help the search for life beyond Earth, analog environments, terrestrial environments on Earth with conditions similar to alien worlds, are often used. My thesis focuses on one such analog environment, Untersee Oasis in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. The site includes the perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee and the adjacent Aurkjosen Cirque. At the bottom of Untersee’s southern basin lies an anoxic, methane-rich pocket of water, an analog for Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Despite the harsh conditions, I discovered an abundant and well-populated microbial community as well as a plethora of metabolic pathways offering a variety of strategies for harvesting energy. Microbial mats on the benthic surface of the northern basin, alongside mats entrained in the ice-cover and paleomats from the cirque, also present the opportunity for a natural experiment in the preservation of biosignatures. I used community profiling to establish a relationship among the mats by identifying overlapping biosignatures. The well-preserved state of biomass in the ice cover demonstrates the potential for recovery of biosignatures representative of the aquatic habitat below, with relevance for the exploration of icy moons. Meanwhile, paleomats preserved in the cirque illuminate how cold and arid conditions slow the degradation of biological material in paleolacustrine basins on Mars. Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Queen Maud Land Georgetown University: DigitalGeorgetown Antarctic Aurkjosen ENVELOPE(13.558,13.558,-71.350,-71.350) Aurkjosen Cirque ENVELOPE(13.558,13.558,-71.350,-71.350) Queen Maud Land ENVELOPE(12.000,12.000,-72.500,-72.500) The Antarctic Untersee ENVELOPE(13.467,13.467,-71.350,-71.350) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Georgetown University: DigitalGeorgetown |
op_collection_id |
ftgeorgetownuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Ancient DNA Antarctica Biosignatures Extreme Environments Metagenomics Microbiome Biology Microbiology Bioinformatics |
spellingShingle |
Ancient DNA Antarctica Biosignatures Extreme Environments Metagenomics Microbiome Biology Microbiology Bioinformatics Wagner, Nicole Yasmin A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
topic_facet |
Ancient DNA Antarctica Biosignatures Extreme Environments Metagenomics Microbiome Biology Microbiology Bioinformatics |
description |
Ph.D. Astrobiology is the study of the “living universe,” which includes the study of the origin of lifeas well as its evolution and distribution on Earth and beyond. Prime candidates for alien life include the icy moons of the outer planets, particularly those with a geological or tidal source for thermal energy as well as Mars, which is widely thought to have had conditions conducive to life billions of years ago with biosignatures, or traces of life, potentially still present. To help the search for life beyond Earth, analog environments, terrestrial environments on Earth with conditions similar to alien worlds, are often used. My thesis focuses on one such analog environment, Untersee Oasis in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. The site includes the perennially ice-covered Lake Untersee and the adjacent Aurkjosen Cirque. At the bottom of Untersee’s southern basin lies an anoxic, methane-rich pocket of water, an analog for Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Despite the harsh conditions, I discovered an abundant and well-populated microbial community as well as a plethora of metabolic pathways offering a variety of strategies for harvesting energy. Microbial mats on the benthic surface of the northern basin, alongside mats entrained in the ice-cover and paleomats from the cirque, also present the opportunity for a natural experiment in the preservation of biosignatures. I used community profiling to establish a relationship among the mats by identifying overlapping biosignatures. The well-preserved state of biomass in the ice cover demonstrates the potential for recovery of biosignatures representative of the aquatic habitat below, with relevance for the exploration of icy moons. Meanwhile, paleomats preserved in the cirque illuminate how cold and arid conditions slow the degradation of biological material in paleolacustrine basins on Mars. |
author2 |
Johnson, Sarah S |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Wagner, Nicole Yasmin |
author_facet |
Wagner, Nicole Yasmin |
author_sort |
Wagner, Nicole Yasmin |
title |
A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
title_short |
A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
title_full |
A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
title_fullStr |
A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Comprehensive Metagenomic Study of the Antarctic Untersee Oasis as an Astrobiological Analog |
title_sort |
comprehensive metagenomic study of the antarctic untersee oasis as an astrobiological analog |
publisher |
Georgetown University |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1068355 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.558,13.558,-71.350,-71.350) ENVELOPE(13.558,13.558,-71.350,-71.350) ENVELOPE(12.000,12.000,-72.500,-72.500) ENVELOPE(13.467,13.467,-71.350,-71.350) |
geographic |
Antarctic Aurkjosen Aurkjosen Cirque Queen Maud Land The Antarctic Untersee |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Aurkjosen Aurkjosen Cirque Queen Maud Land The Antarctic Untersee |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Queen Maud Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Queen Maud Land |
op_source |
Georgetown University-Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Biology |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1068355 orcid:0000-0001-9196-8903 |
_version_ |
1779309772017762304 |