干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A Microfluidics Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia

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DOI	10.1089/ast.2019.2077
	Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A Microfluidics Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia
	Tait, Alastair W.1,2; Gagen, Emma J.3; Wilson, Siobhan A.1,4; Tomkins, Andrew G.1; Southam, Gordon 3
通讯作者	Tait, Alastair W.
来源期刊	ASTROBIOLOGY
ISSN	1531-1074
EISSN	1557-8070
出版年	2020
卷号	20 期号:3 页码:364-374
英文摘要	The advent of microfluidics has revolutionized the way we understand how microorganisms propagate through microporous spaces. Here, we apply this understanding to the study of how endolithic environmental microorganisms colonize the interiors of sterile rock. The substrates used for our study are stony meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia; a semiarid limestone karst that provides an ideal setting for preserving meteorites. Periodic flooding of the Nullarbor provides a mechanism by which microorganisms and exogenous nutrients may infiltrate meteorites. Our laboratory experiments show that environmental microorganisms reach depths greater than 400 mu m by propagating through existing brecciation, passing through cracks no wider than the diameter of a resident cell (i.e., similar to 5 mu m). Our observations are consistent with the propagation of these eukaryotic cells via growth and cell division rather than motility. The morphology of the microorganisms changed as a result of propagation through micrometer-scale cracks, as has been observed previously for bacteria on microfluidic chips. It has been suggested that meteorites could have served as preferred habitats for microorganisms on ancient Mars. Based on our results, the depths reached by terrestrial microorganisms within meteorites would be sufficient to mitigate against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, such as UV light, in Earth's deserts and potentially on Mars, if similar processes of microbial colonization had once been active there. Thus, meteorites landing in ancient lakes on Mars, that later dried out, could have been some of the last inhabited locations on the surface, serving as refugia before the planet's surface became inhospitable. Finally, our observations suggest that terrestrial microorganisms can colonize very fine cracks within meteorites (and potentially spaceships and rovers) on unexpectedly short timescales, with important implications for both recognition of extraterrestrial life in returned geological samples and planetary protection.
英文关键词	Nullarbor Plain Meteorite Endolith First colonizer Microfluidics Eukaryotes
类型	Article
语种	英语
国家	Australia ; Scotland ; Canada
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000504277100001
WOS关键词	MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS ; ATACAMA DESERT ; UV-RADIATION ; MARTIAN SOIL ; SURFACE ; MARS ; SURVIVAL ; GROWTH ; CLASSIFICATION ; MICROORGANISMS
WOS类目	Astronomy & Astrophysics ; Biology ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS研究方向	Astronomy & Astrophysics ; Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics ; Geology
EI主题词	2019-12-23
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/311910
作者单位	1.Monash Univ, Sch Earth Atmosphere & Environm, Melbourne, Vic 3800, Australia; 2.Univ Stirling, Biol & Environm Sci, Stirling, Scotland; 3.Univ Queensland, Sch Earth & Environm Sci, St Lucia, Qld, Australia; 4.Univ Alberta, Dept Earth & Atmospher Sci, Edmonton, AB, Canada
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Tait, Alastair W.,Gagen, Emma J.,Wilson, Siobhan A.,et al. Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A Microfluidics Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia[J],2020,20(3):364-374.
APA	Tait, Alastair W.,Gagen, Emma J.,Wilson, Siobhan A.,Tomkins, Andrew G.,&Southam, Gordon.(2020).Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A Microfluidics Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia.ASTROBIOLOGY,20(3),364-374.
MLA	Tait, Alastair W.,et al."Eukaryotic Colonization of Micrometer-Scale Cracks in Rocks: A Microfluidics Experiment Using Naturally Weathered Meteorites from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia".ASTROBIOLOGY 20.3(2020):364-374.