Extremophiles from Tirez and Peña Hueca: Implications for exploring habitability of Mars and Europa
Abstract
Tirez Lake (La Mancha, central Spain) is proposed as a terrestrial analogue of Europa's ocean based on comparison with Galileo's Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer data on Europa's surface. Tirez lagoon, together with Peña Hueca are endorheic hypersaline lagoons of western La Mancha, Spain.The chloride and sulphate rich environment of endorreic origin of these lagoons potentially serve as Planetary field analogue sites for Martian chloride deposits. The objective of the present investigation was to isolate extremophilic halophiles that thrive in the lagoons rich in Mg-Na-SO4-Cl, epsomite, hexahydrite, and halite. Extremely halophilic bacteria Halomonas gomseomensis PLR-1 was isolated from a rock submerged in the pink hypersaline lagoon of Peña Hueca. Halomonas gomseomensis PLR-1 was found to be extremely resistant to high concentration of salinity (upto 4.5 M sodium chloride), epsomite concentration (upto 0.5 M Magnesium sulphate, perchlorate (upto 1M sodium perchlorate) and sulphate (upto 1 M sodium sulphate). The tolerance of this extremophile to high concentration of epsomite, salinity, sulphate and perchlorate demonstrates its ability of growth in Martian soils. The current study highlights the resilience of extremophiles from Planetary field analogues to Martian conditions and its implications and concerns in planetary protection as these extremophiles may contaminate space crafts and can thrive in Martian conditions.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018EPSC...12.1180T