Archaeal halophiles (halobacteria) from two British salt mines

Norton, Cynthia F.; McGenity, Terry J.; Grant, William D.

doi:10.1099/00221287-139-5-1077

Cited by 122 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…A few papers have reported the survival of archeal halophiles in dry salt over geological time scales (Norton et al, 1993;Grant et al, 1998;McGenity et al, 2000). Rothschild et al (1994) demonstrated that prokaryotes inhabiting natural wet evaporite crusts of halite and gypsum were metabolically active while inside the evaporite for at least the 10 months that it took to dry.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endolithic Cyanobacteria in Halite Rocks from the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

Ascaso²,

2006

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In the driest parts of the Atacama Desert there are no visible life forms on soil or rock surfaces. The soil in this region contains only minute traces of bacteria distributed in patches, and conditions are too dry for cyanobacteria that live under translucent stones. Here we show that halite evaporite rocks from the driest part of the Atacama Desert are colonized by cyanobacteria. This colonization takes place just a few millimeters beneath the rock surface, occupying spaces among salt crystals. Our work reveals that these communities are composed of extremely resistant Chroococcidiopsis morphospecies of cyanobacteria and associated heterotrophic bacteria. This newly discovered endolithic environment is an extremely dry and, at the same time, saline microbial habitat. Photosynthetic microorganisms within dry evaporite rocks could be an important and previously unrecognized target for the search for life within our Solar System.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endolithic Cyanobacteria in Halite Rocks from the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

Ascaso²,

2006

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“…While deep subsurface evaporite deposits are known to host halophilic microbial communities (e.g. Norton et al 1993;Xiao et al 2013), a dearth of knowledge remains surrounding the diversity of subsurface microorganisms, their role in biogeochemical cycling and their association with specific evaporitic geochemistries.…”

Section: -Scientific Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary science and exploration in the deep subsurface: results from the MINAR Program, Boulby Mine, UK

Payler

Biddle

Coates

et al. 2016

International Journal of Astrobiology

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Abstract. The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research -MINAR (MINe Analog Research). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator (AUPE-2), Close-Up Imager (CLUPI), Raman Spectrometer, SPLIT (Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool), Ultrasonic Drill and handheld XRD. We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimeter to meter scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining. IntroductionPlanetary analog research involves the investigation of terrestrial environments that are comparable to extraterrestrial environments. These analogs tend to be focused, at a high level, on science, science operations, or technology research and testing, or a combination of these topics (e.g. Dickinson and Rosen 2003;Sarrazin et al. 2005; Cabrol et al. 2007;Pollard et al. 2009; Lim et al. 2011;Abercromby et al. 2013). Analog field settings are used to evaluate scientific instruments of particular relevance to future flight missions in a rugged field setting. These field tests have, for example, ranged from deserts to underwater settings (e.g. Cabrol et al. 2007;Jasiobedzki et al. 2012;Abercromby et al. 2013), and have taken a variety of forms, from testing a single technology to examine its performance in a particular environment (e.g. Skelley et al. 2007), to fully integrated rover tests utilizing a variety of different instruments (e.g. Schenker et al. 2001).One environment that has received less attention for analog research, but which holds a great deal o...

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“…Kobayashi et al, 1992 ;Zvyagintseva & Tarasov, 1987) or salt mines (e.g. Denner et al, 1994 ;Norton et al, 1993). Abbreviations : PG, phosphatidyl glycerol ; PHB, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate ; MePGP, methylated-phosphatidyl glycerophosphate ; S-TGD, sulfated triglycosyl glycolipid ; TGD, triglycosyl glycolipid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Halorhabdus utahensis gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic, extremely halophilic member of the Archaea from Great Salt Lake, Utah.

Wainø¹,

Tindall²,

Ingvorsen³

2000

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

156

101

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Archaeal halophiles (halobacteria) from two British salt mines

Cited by 122 publications

References 16 publications

Endolithic Cyanobacteria in Halite Rocks from the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

Endolithic Cyanobacteria in Halite Rocks from the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

Planetary science and exploration in the deep subsurface: results from the MINAR Program, Boulby Mine, UK

Halorhabdus utahensis gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic, extremely halophilic member of the Archaea from Great Salt Lake, Utah.

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