Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries
Water present on the surface of early Mars (>3.0 Ga) may have been habitable. Characterising analogue environments and investigating the aspects of their microbiome best suited for growth under simulated martian chemical conditions is key to understanding potential habitability. Experiments were...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 |
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2075-1729/12/4/523/ 2023-08-20T04:04:41+02:00 Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries James A. W. Oliver Matthew Kelbrick Nisha K. Ramkissoon Amy Dugdale Ben P. Stephens Ezgi Kucukkilic-Stephens Mark G. Fox-Powell Susanne P. Schwenzer André Antunes Michael C. Macey agris 2022-04-01 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Astrobiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Life; Volume 12; Issue 4; Pages: 523 simulation analogue sulfur enrichment Text 2022 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 2023-08-01T04:38:55Z Water present on the surface of early Mars (>3.0 Ga) may have been habitable. Characterising analogue environments and investigating the aspects of their microbiome best suited for growth under simulated martian chemical conditions is key to understanding potential habitability. Experiments were conducted to investigate the viability of microbes from a Mars analogue environment, Colour Peak Springs (Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic), under simulated martian chemistries. The fluid was designed to emulate waters thought to be typical of the late Noachian, in combination with regolith simulant material based on two distinct martian geologies. These experiments were performed with a microbial community from Colour Peak Springs sediment. The impact on the microbes was assessed by cell counting and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Changes in fluid chemistries were tested using ICP-OES. Both chemistries were shown to be habitable, with growth in both chemistries. Microbial communities exhibited distinct growth dynamics and taxonomic composition, comprised of sulfur-cycling bacteria, represented by either sulfate-reducing or sulfur-oxidising bacteria, and additional heterotrophic halophiles. Our data support the identification of Colour Peak Springs as an analogue for former martian environments, with a specific subsection of the biota able to survive under more accurate proxies for martian chemistries. Text Arctic Axel Heiberg Island MDPI Open Access Publishing Arctic Heiberg ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) Axel Heiberg Island ENVELOPE(-91.001,-91.001,79.752,79.752) Colour Peak ENVELOPE(-91.284,-91.284,79.469,79.469) Life 12 4 523 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
simulation analogue sulfur enrichment |
spellingShingle |
simulation analogue sulfur enrichment James A. W. Oliver Matthew Kelbrick Nisha K. Ramkissoon Amy Dugdale Ben P. Stephens Ezgi Kucukkilic-Stephens Mark G. Fox-Powell Susanne P. Schwenzer André Antunes Michael C. Macey Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
topic_facet |
simulation analogue sulfur enrichment |
description |
Water present on the surface of early Mars (>3.0 Ga) may have been habitable. Characterising analogue environments and investigating the aspects of their microbiome best suited for growth under simulated martian chemical conditions is key to understanding potential habitability. Experiments were conducted to investigate the viability of microbes from a Mars analogue environment, Colour Peak Springs (Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic), under simulated martian chemistries. The fluid was designed to emulate waters thought to be typical of the late Noachian, in combination with regolith simulant material based on two distinct martian geologies. These experiments were performed with a microbial community from Colour Peak Springs sediment. The impact on the microbes was assessed by cell counting and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Changes in fluid chemistries were tested using ICP-OES. Both chemistries were shown to be habitable, with growth in both chemistries. Microbial communities exhibited distinct growth dynamics and taxonomic composition, comprised of sulfur-cycling bacteria, represented by either sulfate-reducing or sulfur-oxidising bacteria, and additional heterotrophic halophiles. Our data support the identification of Colour Peak Springs as an analogue for former martian environments, with a specific subsection of the biota able to survive under more accurate proxies for martian chemistries. |
format |
Text |
author |
James A. W. Oliver Matthew Kelbrick Nisha K. Ramkissoon Amy Dugdale Ben P. Stephens Ezgi Kucukkilic-Stephens Mark G. Fox-Powell Susanne P. Schwenzer André Antunes Michael C. Macey |
author_facet |
James A. W. Oliver Matthew Kelbrick Nisha K. Ramkissoon Amy Dugdale Ben P. Stephens Ezgi Kucukkilic-Stephens Mark G. Fox-Powell Susanne P. Schwenzer André Antunes Michael C. Macey |
author_sort |
James A. W. Oliver |
title |
Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
title_short |
Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
title_full |
Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
title_fullStr |
Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sulfur Cycling as a Viable Metabolism under Simulated Noachian/Hesperian Chemistries |
title_sort |
sulfur cycling as a viable metabolism under simulated noachian/hesperian chemistries |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(13.964,13.964,66.424,66.424) ENVELOPE(-91.001,-91.001,79.752,79.752) ENVELOPE(-91.284,-91.284,79.469,79.469) |
geographic |
Arctic Heiberg Axel Heiberg Island Colour Peak |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Heiberg Axel Heiberg Island Colour Peak |
genre |
Arctic Axel Heiberg Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Axel Heiberg Island |
op_source |
Life; Volume 12; Issue 4; Pages: 523 |
op_relation |
Astrobiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040523 |
container_title |
Life |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
523 |
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1774715058775916544 |