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Growth, viability, and death of planktonic and biofilm Sphingomonas desiccabilis in simulated martian brines

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Date
02/01/2019
Author
Stevens, Adam H.
Childers, Delma
Fox-Powell, Mark
Nicholson, Natasha
Jhoti, Elisha
Cockell, Charles S.
Keywords
Brines
Desiccation
Extremophile
Halotolerance
Mars
GE Environmental Sciences
QH301 Biology
Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Space and Planetary Science
NDAS
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Abstract
Aqueous solutions on Mars are theorized to contain very different ion compositions than those on Earth. To determine the effect of such solutions on typical environmental micro-organisms, which could be released from robotic spacecraft or human exploration activity, we investigated the resistance of Sphingomonas desiccabilis to brines that simulate the composition of martian aqueous environments. S. desiccabilis is a desiccation-resistant, biofilm-forming microbe found in desert crusts. The viability of cells in both planktonic and biofilm forms was measured after exposure to simulated martian brines. Planktonic cells showed a loss of viability over the course of several hours in almost all of the seven brines tested. Biofilms conferred greater resistance to all the brines, including those with low water activity and pH, but even cells in biofilms showed a complete loss of viability in <6 h in the harsher brines and in <2 days in the less harsh brines. One brine, however, allowed the microbes to maintain viability over several days, despite having a water activity and pH lower and ionic strength higher than brines that reduced viability over the same timescales, suggesting important ion-specific effects. These data show that biofilm-forming cells have a greater capacity to resist martian aqueous extremes, but that evaporative or deliquescent brines are likely to be destructive to many organisms over relatively short timescales, with implications for the habitability of Mars and for micro-organisms dispersed by robotic or human explorers.
Citation
Stevens , A H , Childers , D , Fox-Powell , M , Nicholson , N , Jhoti , E & Cockell , C S 2019 , ' Growth, viability, and death of planktonic and biofilm Sphingomonas desiccabilis in simulated martian brines ' , Astrobiology , vol. 19 , no. 1 , pp. 87-98 . https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1840
Publication
Astrobiology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1840
ISSN
1531-1074
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © Adam H. Stevens et al., 2018; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.
Description
This research was supported by the UK Science Technology and Facilities Council under Grant ST/M001261/1.
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/17197

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