Astrobiology with haloarchaea from Permo-Triassic rock salt

@article{StanLotter2002AstrobiologyWH,
  title={Astrobiology with haloarchaea from Permo-Triassic rock salt},
  author={Helga Stan-Lotter and Christian Radax and Claudia Gruber and Andrea Legat and Marion Pfaffenhuemer and H. Wieland and Stefan Leuko and Gerhard W Weidler and Norbert I. K{\"o}mle and G. Kargl},
  journal={International Journal of Astrobiology},
  year={2002},
  volume={1},
  pages={271 - 284}
}
Several viable halophilic archaebacteria were isolated previously from rock salt of Permo-Triassic age in an Austrian salt mine; one of these strains was the first to be recognized as a novel species from subterranean halite and was designated Halococcus salifodinae. The halophilic microorganisms have apparently survived in the salt sediments over extremely long periods of time. Halobacteria could therefore be suitable model organisms for exploring the possibility of long-term survival of… 
View on Cambridge Press
34 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
1
Background Citations
13
Methods Citations
4

34 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Lebensfähige Halobakterien aus permischem Steinsalz - und im Weltraum?
TLDR
Halobacteria belong to the extremophilic microorganisms; they possess unusual properties, such as optimum growth at salt concentrations approaching saturation, striking red, pink or purple pigmentation, and possibly extreme longevity.
Survival of halophiles of Altai lakes under extreme environmental conditions: implications for the search for Martian life
Abstract Mars is considered to be one of the most favourable places in the Solar System to search for past and present life. In the past Mars was warmer and wetter, so terrestrial halophiles can be…
Halophilic responses to a range of salts and their relevance to Mars
This Thesis investigated the survival of salt-tolerant microorganisms in environments where salts other than NaCl are present, with the aim being to shed new light on the martian astrobiological…
alpine Permian salt deposit , classification of Halobacterium sp . NRC-1 as a strain of H . salinarum and emended description of H
TLDR
Two rod-shaped haloarchaeal strains isolated from a bore core from a salt mine in Austria are members of a single species, for which the name H. salinarum is proposed, with evidence that Halobacterium sp.
Profiling the microbial community of a Triassic halite deposit in Northern Ireland; an environment with significant potential for biodiscovery.
TLDR
Preliminary screening of a selection of isolates from this environment identified antimicrobial activities against a panel of clinically important bacterial pathogens from 15 of the bacterial isolates and one of the archaea, suggesting that this environment may be a new, untapped source of of chemical diversity with high biodiscovery potential.
Archaeal habitats--from the extreme to the ordinary.
TLDR
From the broad distribution, metabolic diversity, and sheer numbers of archaea in environments from the extreme to the ordinary, the roles that the Archaea play in the ecosystems have been grossly underestimated and are worthy of much greater scrutiny.
Viable Halobacteria from Ancient Oceans—and in Outer Space?
About 250 million years ago the continents were close together and formed Pangaea, a supercontinent, which persisted for about 100 million years and then fragmented. The landmasses at that time were…
Raman spectroscopy as a potentialmethod for the detection of extremely halophilic archaea embedded in halite in terrestrial and possibly extraterrestrial samples.
TLDR
Raman spectroscopy was used for the detection of nine different extremely halophilic archaeal strains which had been embedded in laboratory-made halite crystals in order to simulate evaporitic conditions, and no evidence for fatty acids was detected, consistent with their general absence in all archaea.
Acidophilic halophilic microorganisms in fluid inclusions in halite from Lake Magic, Western Australia.
TLDR
Because acid saline lakes are good Mars analogues, the documentation of prokaryote, eukaryotes, and organic compounds preserved in the halite here has implications for the search for life on Mars.
Microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost: biodiversity, state, age, and implication for astrobiology.
TLDR
The Antarctic permafrost habitat and biodiversity is described and provided a model for martian ecosystems and what may be the oldest microbial communities on Earth is observed.
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 81 REFERENCES
Halobacteria: the evidence for longevity
TLDR
Results to date have yet to show any gene sequence differences between surface and evaporite-derived halobacteria that might arguably be an indication of long-term dormancy, which would predict that halob bacteria that have been insulated and isolated inside ancient evaporites would be different from comparable bacteria from surface environments.
Very similar strains of Halococcus salifodinae are found in geographically separated permo-triassic salt deposits.
TLDR
The results presented suggest that viable halophilic archaea, which belong to the same species, occur in widely separated evaporite locations of similar geological age, and support the notion that these halophile isolates from subterranean salt deposits may be the remnants of populations which inhabited ancient hypersaline seas.
Potential for preservation of halobacteria and their macromolecular constituents in brine inclusions from bedded salt deposits
Halobacteria cultured from salt deposits as old as 200 m.y. are assumed to be dormant halobacteria entombed in the brine inclusions that formed during deposition of the salt crystals. Hypersaline…
Halococcus salifodinae sp. nov., an Archaeal Isolate from an Austrian Salt Mine
TLDR
A novel extremely halophilic archaeon (archaebacterium) was isolated from rock salt obtained from an Austrian salt mine and it is proposed that this isolate should be recognized as a new species and should be named Halococcus salifodinae.
Halococcus dombrowskii sp. nov., an archaeal isolate from a Permian alpine salt deposit.
TLDR
Several extremely halophilic coccoid archaeal strains were isolated from pieces of dry rock salt obtained three days after blasting operations in an Austrian salt mine on the basis of their polar-lipid composition, 16S rRNA gene sequences, cell shape and growth characteristics, and genus Halococcus.
Novel haloarchaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences from Alpine Permo-Triassic rock salt
TLDR
The results suggest one plausible scenario to be an ancient continuous hypersaline ocean populated by haloarchaea, whose descendants are found today in the salt sediments, probably consistent with the known geologic heterogeneity of Alpine salt deposits.
Archaea in coastal marine environments.
  • E. Delong
  • Environmental Science, Biology
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
  • 1992
TLDR
Evidence for the widespread occurrence of unusual archaea in oxygenated coastal surface waters of North America is provided and it is suggested that these microorganisms represent undescribed physiological types of archaea, which reside and compete with aerobic, mesophilic eubacteria in marine coastal environments.
Prokaryotic genetic diversity throughout the salinity gradient of a coastal solar saltern.
TLDR
Water samples from eight ponds were analysed, covering a salinity range from near sea water to saturated sodium chloride, and both Bacteria and Archaea showed the same pattern; as salinity increased, the number of different clusters decreased, and only one cluster became dominant.
Archaeal halophiles (halobacteria) from two British salt mines
TLDR
There was a high degree of similarity between the two mine populations, but some strains were particular to each mine.
Investigation of the viability of osmophile bacteria of great geological age.
  • R. Reiser, P. Tasch
  • Geology
    Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. Kansas Academy of Science
  • 1960
The literature on the viability of ancient bacteria is negligible. Lipmann cultured some bacteria from Pennsylvanian coal, and ZoBell cultured bacteria from oil-brines. In a letter to Tasch dated…
...
...