Brines and evaporites: analogs for Martian life

Data from recent Mars missions suggest that Mars almost certainly had abundant liquid water on its surface at some time in the past. As a result, Mars has emerged as a key solar system target that could have harbored some form of life in the past, and which could perhaps still possess remnants of life in brine-containing permafrost. As Mars lost its atmosphere it became cold and dry. Any remaining water on the surface may have formed saline brine pockets within the permafrost. These brine pockets may either be an "oasis" for an extant Martian biota, or the last refuge of an extinct Martian biota. Eventually, these brine pockets would have dried to form evaporites. Evaporites are deposits that result from the evaporation of saline water, which on earth represent primarily halite (NaCl), gypsum, (CaSO(4)2H(2)O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Evaporites that contain bacterial and algal assemblages exist on earth today and are well known in the fossil record. The most likely organism type to survive in a brine or evaporite on earth is a halophile. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of microbes to survive in frozen evaporites. Washed mid-log phase and stationary phase cultures of Haloarcula-G (a species isolated by us during a previous study) and Halobacterium salinarum were either suspended in brine (25% NaCl solution), dried, and then exposed to -20 or -80 degreesC. For comparison, cultures of Deinococcus radiodurans, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas fluorescens were treated similarly, except they were resuspended in 0.5% NaCl solution. Also, to mimic a brine pocket samples of washed mid-log phase cells of each organism were placed in an aqueous solution of 25% NaCl, or in their respective nutrient medium containing 25% NaCl. Periodically, samples of the cells were removed and tested for survival. Data from these experiments suggest that halophiles survive better than non-halophiles under low temperature conditions. These observations would suggest that halophiles might survive in evaporites contained in permafrost. (C) 2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.