A case of life on mars

By Priya Ray and Sayantani Nath

ENDOLITHIC BACTERIA IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENT

• Certain organisms which thrive in extreme environments where life is impossible including bacteria, archaea, fungi , lichen, algae etc. fall under the broad category of endoliths.

• The endolithic environment, is a ubiquitous microbial habitat and interface between biology and geology.

• These endoliths are of particular interest to astrobiologists, who theorise that endolithic environments on Mars and other planets constitute potential refugia for the extra-terrestrial microbial communities..i.e, Life outside earth.

photo : Google

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS• Pseudo Panspermia.• Discovery of organic compounds on Martian soil

that indicate ancient life forms.• Evidence of life in a Martian meteorite.• Similarities of active endolithic ecosystem of

Atacama desert with Martian environment.• Impact generated hydrothermal systems on

Earth and Mars.• Immunological Deposition Of Mellitic Acid In The

Atacama Desert• Mineralogy of saline perennial cold springs in

Canada and implications of spring deposits on Mars.

• Searching for Stromatolites. photo : Mars-1-project

According to researchers in California and

Hawaii, there is this particular concept of

PSEUDO-PANSPERMIA, i.e., the delivery of the

“ingredients of life” from space. The

news also strengthens the

likelihood that life is ubiquitous.

Martian environment was simulated by low temperature, proton irradiation, ultraviolet irradiation , and simulated Martian atmosphere (CO2 95.46%, N2 27%, water vapour 0.03% ) in a special cryostat. After exposure to these conditions, TMV and spores of certain endolithic bacteria and some species of coccus showed significant survival.

Pseudo-Panspermia

Discovery of organic compounds on Martian soil that indicate ancient Life

forms The finding comes via Curiosity’s (NASA ‘s Mars rover ) drill, which uncovered a sample of grey soil, quite different from the typical heavily oxidized ground that gives the “Red Planet” its famous colour.

Martian soil includes carbonates, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and mineral compounds (iron sulphides and magnetite) that are commonly produced by different microbes on earth. Also fossil-like structures were found in these locations, strikingly similar in appearance and size to the tiniest earthian microbial fossil.   

Photo: www.robotshop.com

Evidence of Life in a Martian MeteoriteMartian-origin meteorite ALH84001 on meticulous research ,is supposed to have originated 4 billion years ago, when Mars was warmer, wetter and more conducive for sustenance for life.

Water has probably penetrated the fractures in the sub-surface rock, possibly forming an underground water system. Data from Mars Odyssey spacecraft suggest that the large deposits of ice are buried just 0.3 to 0.6 m below the planet’s surface. The new findings corroborate earlier belief indicating presence of water in Mars once upon a time.

Photos: Google

Recent studies suggest thatWater have drained downward

when it was trapped asSubsurface ice.

The presence of water (or ice) on Mars increases the

odds that Life in the form of endoliths once existed on

Mars.

Photo: nasa.gov.com

Similarities of active endolithic ecosystem of Atacama desert with Martian environment

The hyper-arid core of the Atacama desert in Chile is one of the best terrestrial analogues of the extreme arid conditions on Mars.

Weakly welded rhyolithic ignimbrites in the desert are abundantly colonized by endolithic cyanobacteria and associated heterotrophic bacteria. This is the first known example of an endolithic microbial community colonizing ignimbrite rocks in a very dry environment.

The existence of a habitat capable of supporting abundant phototrophic and heterotrophic communities that precludes most of the life forms, suggests that if similar deposits are found on Mars, these should be considered important targets in search of life.

Most of studies were conducted by the technique of Raman Spectroscopy. The advantages of Raman spectroscopy for the detection of biomolecules in geological mineral matrices was illustrated using terrestrial extremophile specimens from hot and cold deserts where temperatures, desiccation and exposure to low wavelength, high energy radiation in the ultraviolet region demand response strategies for species survival.

Photo : Google

• It has long been suggested that hydrothermal systems might have provided habitats for the origin and evolution of early life on Earth and possibly, Mars. Such studies have been done in detail for a handful of Martian craters, e.g. Toro Crater.

• Synthesizing observations of impact craters on earth and Mars , it is suggested that life existed earlier on Mars, then hydrothermal deposits associated with impact craters may provide the best, and most numerous, opportunities for finding preserved evidence for life on Mars. Moreover, hydrothermally altered and precipitated rocks can provide nutrients and habitats for bacterial life, long after hydrothermal activity has ceased

IMPACT-GENERATED HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS ON

EARTH AND MARS

Photo: Mars

Photo: Mars society Education Forum

Photo: Nasa.114

Immunological Deposition Of Mellitic Acid In The Atacama DesertIt has been argued that polycarboxylic acids like hexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid) can be produced and synthesized and accumulated in the Martian regolith from the oxidation of organic matter (meteoritic). Herein, the production of an antibody of mellitic acid is reported and the development of a fluorescent inhibiton microarray immunoassay to detect this substance.

Antibody is to detect mellitic acid in drill core samples obtained from different depths in the Atacama desert, a highly relevant terrestrial analogue for Mars. The presence of Mellitic acid was corroborated by organic extraction and GC/MS analysis. The results showed a smooth gradient of mellitic acid concentration (higher at surface and diminishing with depth).

This may indicate at the primitive occurrence of LIFE as endoliths in surface rocks in Mars.

Photo: upload.wikimedia.org

Mineralogy of saline perennial cold springs in Canada and implications of

spring deposits on Mars

The detailed mineralogy and distribution of precipitates in crusts and sediments of three non-volcanic perennial cold springs – associated with gypsum/anhydrite diapirs on – Axel Heiberg Island, Canada ; Wolf Spring (WS) ; Colour Peak Springs (CP), and Gypsum Hill Springs (GH) . At these sites permafrost, frigid winter temperatures and arid atmospheric conditions approximate conditions of present day as well as past, of Mars.

Spring sediments are home to thriving microbial communities in winter and summer months. If spring systems did exist on the surface of Mars, they may represent environments capable of supporting endolithic microbial life

Photo: parade.condenast.com

SEARCHING FOR STROMATOLITES : AT PILBARA REGION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA AS

A MARS ANALOGUE

Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered bio-chemical accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and

cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria.

Stromatolites are readily identified, outcrop scale indicators of potential biological activity constructed by

microbes.

Their presence in volcano sedimentary successions of Pilbara region in Western Australia suggests that they might also occur in similar Noachian age successions

on Mars.

Photo:www.fossilmuseum.net

C O N C LU S IO N A N D FU T U R E PR O S PEC T S All these evidences though may indicate presence of life on Mars in

the form of endolithic bacteria , however it is too early for a concrete prediction.

With further research in this field, there is a strong possibility of discovery of life on Mars. In this field, more advanced instrumentation is required for geochemical and isotopic analysis of samples. Curiosity has been proved to be a giant leap in the Martian research ; but further such space rovers are needed for better analytical approaches.

There is a growing body of evidence for impact generated hydrothermal activity on Mars (point no. 5) ; although further detailed studies using high resolution imagery and multispectral information are required

If life is detected on Mars someday, it will open a whole new horizon of not only astrobiology or other related branches of science, but also for humanity on earth.

Photo: Nasa.gov.in

REFERENCES www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.sciencedirect.com www.msu.edu www.panspermia.org/whatsnew.htm rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife waynesword.palomar.edu/lifemars.htm Endolithic Microbial Life in Extreme Cold Climate: Snow

Is Required, but Perhaps Less Is More Henry J. Sun Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert

Research Institute, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA; Biology 2013, 2, 693-701

On Biogenicity Criteria for Endolithic Microborings on Early Earth and Beyond

NICOLA MCLOUGHLIN,1,2 MARTIN D. BRASIER,1 DAVID WACEY,1 OWEN R. GREEN,1 and RANDALL S. PERRY1,3

ASTROBIOLOGY Volume 7, Number 1, 2007 © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Photo: i.huffpost.com

AcknowledgementNo effort can attain the ultimum of perfection unless it is cumulative. We would like to render our whole-hearted gratitude to all our teachers of the Microbiology Department. A special vote of Thanks to Sir Dr. Arup Kumar Mitra for his unhindered guidance throughout the making of this. And last but not the least, a very warm “THANK YOU” to all my friends from the department without whose altruist support this would not have been possible.Thank You All.

Photo: haughtonmarsproject.com