Non-Psychrophilic Methanogens Capable of Growth Following Long-Term Extreme Temperature Changes, with Application to Mars

Non-Psychrophilic Methanogens Capable of Growth Following Long-Term Extreme Temperature Changes, with Application to Mars

Although the martian environment is currently cold and dry, geomorphological features on the surface of the planet indicate relatively recent (<4 My) freeze/thaw episodes. Additionally, the recent detections of near-subsurface ice as well as hydrated salts within recurring slope lineae suggest po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 6; no. 2; p. 34
Main Authors: Mickol, Rebecca L, Laird, Sarah K, Kral, Timothy A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23-04-2018
MDPI
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Climate change
Cold
Communities
Community structure
Earth
Experiments
Extraterrestrial life
Freeze-thawing
freeze/thaw
Freezing
Genomes
Geomorphology
Global temperatures
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Mars
Mars environment
Mars surface
methane
Methanogenic bacteria
methanogens
Microbial activity
Microorganisms
Permafrost
Salts
Studies
Temperature effects
Thawing
Tibetan Plateau
United States > US
methane
Mars
freeze/thaw
permafrost
methanogens
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Summary:Although the martian environment is currently cold and dry, geomorphological features on the surface of the planet indicate relatively recent (<4 My) freeze/thaw episodes. Additionally, the recent detections of near-subsurface ice as well as hydrated salts within recurring slope lineae suggest potentially habitable micro-environments within the martian subsurface. On Earth, microbial communities are often active at sub-freezing temperatures within permafrost, especially within the active layer, which experiences large ranges in temperature. With warming global temperatures, the effect of thawing permafrost communities on the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane becomes increasingly important. Studies examining the community structure and activity of microbial permafrost communities on Earth can also be related to martian permafrost environments, should life have developed on the planet. Here, two non-psychrophilic methanogens, and , were tested for their ability to survive long-term (~4 year) exposure to freeze/thaw cycles varying in both temperature and duration, with implications both for climate change on Earth and possible life on Mars.
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ISSN:2076-2607
2076-2607
DOI:10.3390/microorganisms6020034