830-million-year-old microorganisms in primary fluid inclusions in halite

Schreder-Gomes, Sara I.; Benison, Kathleen C.; Bernau, Jeremiah A.

doi:10.1130/g49957.1

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…1; Vreeland et al ., 2000) as discussed by Schreder‐Gomes et al . (2021). Microbial cells have been recently observed in Precambrian fluid inclusions of halite that is 830 million‐years‐old based on radiometric dating of overlying and underlying igneous rocks (Schreder‐Gomes and Benison, 2021; Schreder‐Gomes et al ., 2021), albeit that attempts have not yet been made to culture them.…”

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2021). Microbial cells have been recently observed in Precambrian fluid inclusions of halite that is 830 million‐years‐old based on radiometric dating of overlying and underlying igneous rocks (Schreder‐Gomes and Benison, 2021; Schreder‐Gomes et al ., 2021), albeit that attempts have not yet been made to culture them. For a discussion of the robustness of dating of these inclusions, which were identified as primary inclusions which formed when the halite originally precipitated, see Supporting Information Appendix S1.…”

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is not possible to ascertain whether the cells in these Precambrian fluid inclusions underwent any cell division(s) during their entrapment. However, there was no visible evidence of this (Schreder‐Gomes et al ., 2021), halophiles have a cell membrane composition that is most thermodynamically stable at high salt concentrations (Kates, 1993; Gunde‐Cimerman et al ., 2018), and the constrained conditions dictate that these cells must be ancient.…”

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Water is a preservative of microbes

Hallsworth

2021

Microbial Biotechnology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Water is the cellular milieu, drives all biochemistry within Earth’s biosphere and facilitates microbe‐mediated decay processes. Instead of reviewing these topics, the current article focuses on the activities of water as a preservative—its capacity to maintain the long‐term integrity and viability of microbial cells—and identifies the mechanisms by which this occurs. Water provides for, and maintains, cellular structures; buffers against thermodynamic extremes, at various scales; can mitigate events that are traumatic to the cell membrane, such as desiccation–rehydration, freeze–thawing and thermal shock; prevents microbial dehydration that can otherwise exacerbate oxidative damage; mitigates against biocidal factors (in some circumstances reducing ultraviolet radiation and diluting solute stressors or toxic substances); and is effective at electrostatic screening so prevents damage to the cell by the intense electrostatic fields of some ions. In addition, the water retained in desiccated cells (historically referred to as ‘bound’ water) plays key roles in biomacromolecular structures and their interactions even for fully hydrated cells. Assuming that the components of the cell membrane are chemically stable or at least repairable, and the environment is fairly constant, water molecules can apparently maintain membrane geometries over very long periods provided these configurations represent thermodynamically stable states. The spores and vegetative cells of many microbes survive longer in the presence of vapour‐phase water (at moderate‐to‐high relative humidities) than under more‐arid conditions. There are several mechanisms by which large bodies of water, when cooled during subzero weather conditions remain in a liquid state thus preventing potentially dangerous (freeze–thaw) transitions for their microbiome. Microbial life can be preserved in pure water, freshwater systems, seawater, brines, ice/permafrost, sugar‐rich aqueous milieux and vapour‐phase water according to laboratory‐based studies carried out over periods of years to decades and some natural environments that have yielded cells that are apparently thousands, or even (for hypersaline fluid inclusions of mineralized NaCl) hundreds of millions, of years old. The term preservative has often been restricted to those substances used to extend the shelf life of foods (e.g. sodium benzoate, nitrites and sulphites) or those used to conserve dead organisms, such as ethanol or formaldehyde. For living microorganisms however, the ultimate preservative may actually be water. Implications of this role are discussed with reference to the ecology of halophiles, human pathogens and other microbes; food science; biotechnology; biosignatures for life and other aspects of astrobiology; and the large‐scale release/reactivation of preserved microbes caused by global climate change.

show abstract

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aqueous Brines Conserve Cell Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Water is a preservative of microbes

Hallsworth

2021

Microbial Biotechnology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Combining measurements of diffusivity-characterized-motility [40,41] with bioparticle distribution observed on Earth, provides crucial information for development of new instrumentation to detect the presence of extra terrestrial life [41,42]. Indeed, recently micro-organisms trapped in primary fluid inclusions in halite for millions of years have been discovered [43], providing promise for both terrestrial and extraterrestrial biosignature detection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biolocomotion and Premelting in Ice

Vachier

Wettlaufer

2022

Front. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biota are found in glaciers, ice sheets and permafrost. Ice bound micro-organisms evolve in a complex mobile environment facilitated or hindered by a range of bulk and surface interactions. When a particle is embedded in a host solid near its bulk melting temperature, a melted film forms at the surface of the particle in a process known as interfacial premelting. Under a temperature gradient, the particle is driven by a thermomolecular pressure gradient toward regions of higher temperatures in a process called thermal regelation. When the host solid is ice and the particles are biota, thriving in their environment requires the development of strategies, such as producing exopolymeric substances (EPS) and antifreeze glycoproteins (AFP) that enhance the interfacial water. Therefore, thermal regelation is enhanced and modified by a process we term bio-enhanced premelting. Additionally, the motion of bioparticles is influenced by chemical gradients influenced by nutrients within the icy host body. We show how the overall trajectory of bioparticles is controlled by a competition between thermal regelation and directed biolocomotion. By re-casting this class of regelation phenomena in the stochastic framework of active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck dynamics, and using multiple scales analysis, we find that for an attractive (repulsive) nutrient source, that thermal regelation is enhanced (suppressed) by biolocomotion. This phenomena is important in astrobiology, the biosignatures of extremophiles and in terrestrial paleoclimatology.

show abstract

“…The study of terrestrial analog sites is seen as essential for: (i) studying the limits of life (e.g., Azua-Bustos et al, 2012 ; DasSarma et al, 2017 ; Koschnitzki et al, 2021 ), (ii) obtaining new microbes for astrobiological exposure experiments (e.g., Musilova et al, 2015 ; Beblo-Vranesevic et al, 2020 ), (iii) analyzing long-term viability and preservation of microbes and biomolecules (e.g., Gramain et al, 2011 ; Leuko et al, 2017 ; Schreder-Gomes et al, 2022 ), (iv) technology development and testing for life-detection in space missions (e.g., Harris et al, 2015 ; García-Descalzo et al, 2019 ; Lantz et al, 2020 ; Dypvik et al, 2021 ; Rull et al, 2022 ), and (v) defining and refining planetary protection measures (e.g., Rettberg et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The archaeal class Halobacteria and astrobiology: Knowledge gaps and research opportunities

McGenity

Rettberg

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water bodies on Mars and the icy moons of the outer solar system are now recognized as likely being associated with high levels of salt. Therefore, the study of high salinity environments and their inhabitants has become increasingly relevant for Astrobiology. Members of the archaeal class Halobacteria are the most successful microbial group living in hypersaline conditions and are recognized as key model organisms for exposure experiments. Despite this, data for the class is uneven across taxa and widely dispersed across the literature, which has made it difficult to properly assess the potential for species of Halobacteria to survive under the polyextreme conditions found beyond Earth. Here we provide an overview of published data on astrobiology-linked exposure experiments performed with members of the Halobacteria, identifying clear knowledge gaps and research opportunities.

show abstract

830-million-year-old microorganisms in primary fluid inclusions in halite

Cited by 27 publications

References 26 publications

Water is a preservative of microbes

Water is a preservative of microbes

Biolocomotion and Premelting in Ice

The archaeal class Halobacteria and astrobiology: Knowledge gaps and research opportunities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About