Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T14:32:45.968Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spectroscopic detection of microbial colonization in Antarctic sandstone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2021

Christopher P. McKay Open the ORCID record for Christopher P. McKay [Opens in a new window] ,
Gregg A. Swayze ,
Roger N. Clark  and
Raymond F. Kokaly
Christopher P. McKay*
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA94035, USA
Gregg A. Swayze
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, MS964 Box 25046 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO80225, USA
Roger N. Clark
Affiliation:
Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ85719, USA
Raymond F. Kokaly
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, MS964 Box 25046 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO80225, USA
*
Chris.McKay@nasa.gov
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We report infrared reflectance and ultraviolet fluorescence spectra of the surfaces and cleaved side of Beacon Sandstone from Antarctica that harbours a cryptoendolithic microbial community - a photosynthesis-based consortium of algae, lichen and bacteria present a few millimetres below the surface. Chlorophyll absorptions were present in the reflectance spectra of the exposed interior but not on the top or bottom surfaces and their band depths changed < 4% between measurements taken 19 years apart, indicating the stability of the microorganisms when the sample is kept dry. The presence of subsurface organic layers was detected in reflectance at 3.41 μm on the sample's surface. Fluorescence spectra of the cleaved side showed the blue fluorescence peaks expected from chlorophyll but no 0.65–0.80 μm peaks seen in fluorescence measurements of green vegetation. A weak fluorescence signal was detectable at the surface of the sample, presumably due to some light leaking into the subsurface through pores or cracks in the goethite coating the sample's surface. Theoretically, this weak fluorescence signal could possibly be observed in rock surfaces broken by erosion or meteor impacts on Mars. Sandstone outcrops have been reported on Mars and detection of organic layers in sandstones there would be of interest.

Keywords

cryptoendolithicfluorescenceinfrared spectroscopyLinnaeus TerraceMarsorganics
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , June 2021 , pp. 265 - 272
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Archer, S.D., de los Ríos, A., Lee, K.C., Niederberger, T.S., Cary, S.C., Coyne, K.J., et al. 2017. Endolithic microbial diversity in sandstone and granite from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 40, 997–1006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabrol, N.A., Grin, E.A., Newsom, H.E., Landheim, R. & McKay, C.P. 1999. Hydrogeologic evolution of Gale crater and its relevance to the exobiological exploration of Mars. Icarus, 139, 235–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caiola, M.G., Billi, D. & Friedmann, E.I., 1996. Effect of desiccation on envelopes of the cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. (Chroococcales). European Journal of Phycology, 31, 97–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, R.N., Swayze, G.A., Livo, K.E., Kokaly, R.F., Sutley, S.J., Dalton, J.B., et al. 2003. Imaging spectroscopy: Earth and planetary remote sensing with the USGS Tetracorder and expert systems. Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, 108, 10.1029/2002JE001847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockell, C.S. & Osinski, G.R. 2007. Impact-induced impoverishment and transformation of a sandstone habitat for lithophytic microorganisms. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 42, 1985–1993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davila, A.F. & Schulze-Makuch, D. 2016. The last possible outposts for life on Mars. Astrobiology, 16, 159–168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedmann, E.I. 1982. Endolithic microorganisms in the Antarctic cold desert. Science, 215, 1045–1053.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedmann, E.I. & Weed, R. 1987. Microbial trace-fossil formation, biogenous, and abiotic weathering in the Antarctic cold desert. Science, 236, 703–705.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedmann, E.I., Kappen, L., Meyer, M.A. & Nienow, J.A. 1993. Long-term productivity in the cryptoendolithic microbial community of the Ross Desert, Antarctica. Microbial Ecology, 25, 51–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grotzinger, J.P., Gupta, S., Malin, M.C., Rubin, D.M., Schieber, J., Siebach, K., et al. 2015. Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars. Science, 350, 10.1126/science.aac7575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hand, K.P., Carlson, R.W., Sun, H., Anderson, M., Wadsworth, W. & Levy, R. 2005. Utilizing active mid-infrared microspectrometry for in situ analysis of cryptoendolithic microbial communities of Battleship Promontory, Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 5906, 302–310.Google Scholar
Horath, T., Neu, T.R. & Bachofen, R. 2006. An endolithic microbial community in dolomite rock in central Switzerland: Characterization by reflection spectroscopy, pigment analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and laser scanning microscopy. Microbial Ecology, 51, 353–364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knoll, A.H., Golubic, S., Green, J. & Swett, K. 1986. Organically preserved microbial endoliths from the late Proterozoic of East Greenland. Nature, 321, 856–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kokaly, R.F., Clark, R.N., Swayze, G.A., Livo, K.E., Hoefen, T.M., Benzel, W.M., et al. 2017, USGS Spectral Library Version 7 Data. U.S. Geological Survey data release. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7RR1WDJ (accessed March 2021).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKay, C.P. 1986. Exobiology and future Mars missions: the search for Mars' earliest biosphere. Advances in Space Research, 6, 269–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKay, C.P. 2012. Full solar spectrum measurements of absorption of light in a sample of the Beacon Sandstone containing the Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial community. Antarctic Science, 24, 243–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKay, C.P. & Davis, W.L. 1991. Duration of liquid water habitats on early Mars. Icarus, 90, 214–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKay, C.P., Friedman, E.I., Wharton, R.A. & Davies, W.L. 1992. History of water on Mars: a biological perspective. Advances in Space Research, 12, 231–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pointing, S.B. & Belnap, J. 2012. Microbial colonization and controls in dryland systems. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 10, 551–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qu, E.B., Omelon, C.R., Oren, A., Meslier, V., Cowan, D.A., Maggs-Kölling, G. & DiRuggiero, J. 2020. Trophic selective pressures organize the composition of endolithic microbial communities from global deserts. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02952.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, N.C., Edwards, H.G.M. & Wynn-Williams, D.D. 1998. FT-Raman spectroscopic analysis of endolithic microbial communities from Beacon Sandstone in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10, 63–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soina, V.S., Mergelov, N.S., Kudinova, A.G., Lysak, L.V., Demkina, E.V., Vorobyova, E.A., et al. 2018. Microbial communities of soils and soil-like bodies in extreme conditions of East Antarctica. Paleontological Journal, 52, 1186–1195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stivaletta, N., Lopez-Garcia, P., Boihem, L., Millie, D.F. & Barbieri, R. 2010. Biomarkers of endolithic communities within gypsum crusts (southern Tunisia). Geomicrobiology Journal, 27, 101–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, H.J. 2013. Endolithic microbial life in extreme cold climate: snow is required, but perhaps less is more. Biology, 2, 693–701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treiman, A.H., Bish, D.L., Vaniman, D.T., Chipera, S.J., Blake, D.F., Ming, D.W., et al. 2016. Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X-ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale crater). Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, 121, 75–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vítek, P., Ascaso, C., Artieda, O., Casero, M.C. & Wierzchos, J. 2017. Discovery of carotenoid red-shift in endolithic cyanobacteria from the Atacama Desert. Scientific Reports, 7, 10.1038/s41598-017-11581-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warren-Rhodes, K.A., Rhodes, K.L., Pointing, S.B., Ewing, S.A., Lacap, D.C., Gomez-Silva, B., et al. 2006. Hypolithic cyanobacteria, dry limit of photosynthesis, and microbial ecology in the hyperarid Atacama Desert. Microbial Ecology, 52, 389–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wierzchos, J. & Ascaso, C. 2001. Life, decay and fossilisation of endolithic microorganisms from the Ross Desert, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 24, 863–868.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wierzchos, J., Ascaso, C. & McKay, C.P. 2006. Endolithic cyanobacteria in halite rocks from the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. Astrobiology, 6, 415–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wierzchos, J., Sancho, L.G. & Ascaso, C. 2005. Biomineralization of endolithic microbes in rocks from the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica: implications for microbial fossil formation and their detection. Environmental Microbiology, 7, 566–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williford, K.H., Farley, K.A., Stack, K.M., Allwood, A.C., Beaty, D., Beegle, L.W., et al. 2018. The NASA Mars 2020 rover mission and the search for extraterrestrial life. In Cabrol, N. & Grin, E., eds. From habitability to life on Mars. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 275–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wynn-Williams, D.D., Edwards, H.G.M. & Garcia-Pichel, F. 1999. Functional biomolecules of Antarctic stromatolitic and endolithic cyanobacterial communities. European Journal of Phycology, 34, 381–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yen, A.S., Ming, D.W., Vaniman, D.T., Gellert, R., Blake, D.F., Morris, R.V., et al. 2017. Multiple stages of aqueous alteration along fractures in mudstone and sandstone strata in Gale crater, Mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 471, 186–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar