Overview of the workflow and experimental design. a) Workflow exposure experiment: Cultivation, followed by cell enrichment and deposition in the exposure wells to conduct 1. desiccation experiment, and 2. exposure to Mars-like conditions. Re-cultivation of the exposed cells was performed to determine cell survival, followed by organic extraction, mass spectrometry analysis (UHPLC – HRMS), and data analysis (MetaboScape®) to determine potential changes in the composition of thiophene-bearing quinones. Created with BioRender.com. b) Experimental design of the exposure experiment from cultivation to sample analysis and determination of cell recovery by re-cultivation of exposed and non-exposed cell-mineral material. Extractions were conducted immediately after harvesting the cell-mineral material of the fresh culture, followed by extraction and analysis of the samples in the Mars simulation chamber exposed to UV, non-exposed to UV, transport control, and laboratory control. — chemrxiv.org
In the search for reliable biomarkers in other planetary environments such as Mars, molecules that are stable over geological timescales, while preserving indicative information about their potential biological origin, are crucially needed. Thiophene-bearing quinones fulfill these requirements, and thiophenes, which are their basic moieties, have been found on Mars.
However, thiophenes can be produced abiotically and have been found in meteorites. Furthermore, the Martian environment may alter their molecular structure over time. To evaluate whether there could be a distinction between biotically and abiotically produced thiophenes, considering the harsh environmental conditions on Mars, we cultivated the extremophilic archaeon Acidianus manzaensis on ESA01-E Mars analog material.
We then exposed the cell-mineral samples to one month of desiccation and Mars-like conditions in a Mars simulation chamber to analyze changes in the composition of thiophene-bearing quinones using mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, and evaluated the potential for cell recovery after exposure.
Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻
