Proteobacteria Archives - Astrobiology

(A and B) Circular phylogenetic tree of the microbial community composition exemplarily for the surface layer (0–5 cm depth) in Yungay (0.1% abundance); color codes reflect microbial classes (A). Clades unique to the e- or iDNA are shown in (B). Additionally, red and blue stars indicated predominate eDNA and iDNA clades in (A). NA means no taxonomic class. -- Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report

Living Microbes Discovered In Earth’s Driest Desert

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024January 11, 2026

The Atacama Desert, which runs along the Pacific Coast in Chile, is the driest place on the planet and, largely because of that aridity, hostile to most living things. Not […]

Concentrations of urea, ammonium, and nitrate for each site and depth. Note that the scale for nitrate is different from the other nutrients. Error bars indicate standard deviation of triplicate measurements. Empty dots in ammonium indicate a concentration below the detection limit. Ammonium and nitrate data are re-plotted from Arandia-Gorostidi et al., 2023. Grey area indicates sea-floor depth. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Urea Assimilation and Oxidation Supports the Activity of a Phylogenetically Diverse Microbial Community in the Dark Ocean

by Keith CowingAugust 3, 2024January 11, 2026

Urea is hypothesized to be an important source of nitrogen and chemical energy to microorganisms in the deep sea; however, direct evidence for urea use below the epipelagic ocean is […]

Mount Jōdo, Wikipedia

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report

Airborne Microbial Communities at High-Altitude and Suburban Sites in Toyama, Japan Suggest a New Perspective for Bioprospecting

by Keith CowingJuly 16, 2024July 7, 2024

Airborne microorganisms, especially those at high altitude, are exposed to hostile conditions, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation, desiccation, and low temperatures.

High latitude benthic microbial mat in Skarvsnes, East Antarctica. (Photo: S Kudoh)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

DNA Reveals That Unique Microorganisms Evolved At Earth’s Poles

by Keith CowingFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

Communities of microorganisms at the bottom of polar lakes evolved independently from other regions, influenced by the particular geological, biological and climate history of their regions. The unique character of […]

Occurrence of the major 100 OTUs clusters at 3% cutoff level (Supplementary Table 6). Cluster analysis was based on Spearman rank correlation. Color intensity signifies abundance ranging from orange (low abundance), to light blue (medium abundance) and to red (high abundance). Four clusters were formed: K1 and K2 (Kolumbo crater samples), S1 and S2 (Santorini caldera samples). -- Frontiers

Away Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Taxonomic Diversity Of Microbial Communities In Sub-seafloor Hydrothermal Sediments Of The Active Santorini-Kolumbo Volcanic Field

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2023November 22, 2023

Introduction: Active hydrothermal vents of volcanic origin provide a remarkable manifestation of life on Earth under extreme conditions, which may have consequences for our understanding of habitability on other terrestrial […]

The K-REX2 rover, designed at NASA’s Ames Research Center, is at the heart of NASA’s Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies, or ARADS, project. It is seen here in Chile’s Atacama Desert during the 2018 season of field testing. ARADS aims to show that autonomous roving, drilling and life detection can take place all together and should yield valuable science on future Mars exploration missions. NASA

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2023August 23, 2025

The low organic matter content in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, together with abrupt temperature shifts and high ultraviolet radiation at its surface, makes this region one of […]

Directed evolution of UVCR tolerance in strain DSM 20129. A) Schematic depiction of the directed evolution method used to improve UVCR tolerance in strain DSM 20129. The details of the procedure are descried in the text. B) UVCR tolerance of DSM 20129 after each round of UVCR exposure as compared to isolate L6-1, measured as the number of surviving CFUs (N) at each UVCR dose divided by total number of CFUs in the unexposed control (N0 ). Data shown are the average of three independent replicates. Error bars represent SEM. C) Summary of the mutations acquired during the directed evolution process. Mutation type (smaller pie chart) refers only to the mutations occurring in coding sequences (green slice in larger pie chart). Gene3 Ontology (GO) function annotations were determined for proteins that acquired amino acid point mutations in their coding sequence (blue slice in smaller pie chart). -- biorxiv.org

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Status Report

Extreme UVC Radiation Tolerance In Bacteria Recovered From Earth’s Stratosphere

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2023June 14, 2026

Aerosolized microbes surviving transport to and in the stratosphere endure extremes of low temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity, and high shortwave ultraviolet radiation flux. However, the genetic determinants for […]