Space
Biofilms: Dried Slime Could Help Microbes Survive In The Salty Waters Of Mars
Ellainie Calangian
First Posted: Jan 24, 2017 03:40 AM EST
An experiment indicates that a dried slime also referred to as "biofilms" could help microbes survive in the salty waters on the planet Mars. The biofilms, when exposed to the salty waters of Mars, could live longer than single cells and even longer when they are dried out first.
A biofilm is a group of microorganisms, wherein the cells stick to each other. The cells adhere to the surface and embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Its extra polymeric substance is known as slime, in which its polymeric conglomeration comprises of extracellular DNA, proteins and polysaccharides.
In the experiment that was led by Adam Stevens from the University of Edinburgh and other colleagues, they examined how the biofilms would react to the Martian waters. They put the biofilms in seven Mars-like brines that contained a range of chemical compositions and strengths.
They discovered that all the biofilms lasted well for the past 5 hours of observation time in the weakest brines. As the waters become salty, they found that biofilms that were dried did much better than the regular biofilms. This difficult incident could prepare them to survive on Mars.
Meanwhile, after 5 hours in the harshest brines or about 70 times saltier than the weakest one, all the microbes in the dried-out biofilms were dead. Likewise, the regular and hydrated biofilms in the harsher brines became worse, too. Their cells died within an hour. Some of them died in half an hour or less, according to New Scientist.
Stevens said that this research provides them some information about what they could possibly look for if they do go and investigate these brines, which, on the flip side, they are saying maybe they should not. Meanwhile, Jennifer Macalady from Penn State University in University Park said that this is a kind of a call to pick up the baton of this area that they really need to understand as they launch into an era of space travel.
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First Posted: Jan 24, 2017 03:40 AM EST
An experiment indicates that a dried slime also referred to as "biofilms" could help microbes survive in the salty waters on the planet Mars. The biofilms, when exposed to the salty waters of Mars, could live longer than single cells and even longer when they are dried out first.
A biofilm is a group of microorganisms, wherein the cells stick to each other. The cells adhere to the surface and embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Its extra polymeric substance is known as slime, in which its polymeric conglomeration comprises of extracellular DNA, proteins and polysaccharides.
In the experiment that was led by Adam Stevens from the University of Edinburgh and other colleagues, they examined how the biofilms would react to the Martian waters. They put the biofilms in seven Mars-like brines that contained a range of chemical compositions and strengths.
They discovered that all the biofilms lasted well for the past 5 hours of observation time in the weakest brines. As the waters become salty, they found that biofilms that were dried did much better than the regular biofilms. This difficult incident could prepare them to survive on Mars.
Meanwhile, after 5 hours in the harshest brines or about 70 times saltier than the weakest one, all the microbes in the dried-out biofilms were dead. Likewise, the regular and hydrated biofilms in the harsher brines became worse, too. Their cells died within an hour. Some of them died in half an hour or less, according to New Scientist.
Stevens said that this research provides them some information about what they could possibly look for if they do go and investigate these brines, which, on the flip side, they are saying maybe they should not. Meanwhile, Jennifer Macalady from Penn State University in University Park said that this is a kind of a call to pick up the baton of this area that they really need to understand as they launch into an era of space travel.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone