Crystalline water in gypsum is unavailable for cyanobacteria in laboratory experiments and in natural desert endolithic habitats

Wierzchos, Jacek; Artieda, Octavio; Ascaso, Carmen; Nieto, Fernando; Vítek, Petr; Azua‐Bustos, Armando; Fairén, Alberto González

doi:10.1073/pnas.2013134117

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This research demonstrated that cyanobacteria could extract water of hydrated salts from the rock, inducing a phase transformation from gypsum to anhydrite (CaSO 4 ), which may enable these microorganisms to sustain life in this extremely arid environment 61 . The validity of these results has been questioned 62 , which suggests that the existence of water extraction mechanisms from salts and dry rocks across other organisms needs to be further investigated to understand better the limits of life on Earth and Mars 63 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Present-day thermal and water activity environment of the Mars Sample Return collection

Zorzano,

Martínez,

Polkko

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The Mars Sample Return mission intends to retrieve a sealed collection of rocks, regolith, and atmosphere sampled from Jezero Crater, Mars, by the NASA Perseverance rover mission. For all life-related research, it is necessary to evaluate water availability in the samples and on Mars. Within the first Martian year, Perseverance has acquired an estimated total mass of 355 g of rocks and regolith, and 38 μmoles of Martian atmospheric gas. Using in-situ observations acquired by the Perseverance rover, we show that the present-day environmental conditions at Jezero allow for the hydration of sulfates, chlorides, and perchlorates and the occasional formation of frost as well as a diurnal atmospheric-surface water exchange of 0.5–10 g water per m2 (assuming a well-mixed atmosphere). At night, when the temperature drops below 190 K, the surface water activity can exceed 0.5, the lowest limit for cell reproduction. During the day, when the temperature is above the cell replication limit of 245 K, water activity is less than 0.02. The environmental conditions at the surface of Jezero Crater, where these samples were acquired, are incompatible with the cell replication limits currently known on Earth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Present-day thermal and water activity environment of the Mars Sample Return collection

Zorzano,

Martínez,

Polkko

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…The absence of anhydrite and bassanite in the polygon surface after wetting might indicate such hydration processes but it could similarly be a result of the natural variability in the soils, especially since anhydrite was detected in the samples collected between days 1 and 42. However, the relevance of crystal water for example, in gypsum as a water source for microbes remains highly debated (Huang et al., 2020; Wierzchos et al., 2020), and would here at most be relevant for prolonged dry conditions. Similarly, moisture provided by fog and dew events might be better adsorbed by the anhydrite‐ and bassanite‐rich surface soils of the polygon compared to the sand wedge, lacking such hygroscopic minerals (Figures 2c and 2e, Figure 3), but it remains unclear whether this improves the habitability of the polygon surface during dry conditions, as the higher PLFA concentrations might suggest (Figure 5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

et al. 2023

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The hyper-arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the oldest and driest deserts on Earth, challenging the activity of microbial life due to extremely limited water availability, oxidizing conditions, high ultraviolet radiation, and high soil salinity (Houston & Hartley, 2003;Navarro-González et al., 2003). These harsh conditions result from the extreme aridity caused by the rain shadow effect of the pre-Cordillera and Andean mountains in eastern Chile and the cold Humboldt current along the Chilean coast, which creates an inversion layer largely preventing the formation of clouds (Houston & Hartley, 2003

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“…In response to Wierzchos et al (1) regarding the mechanism of water extraction from gypsum rock by desert colonizing microorganisms (2), we provide details that refute their incorrect assessments.…”

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confidence: 86%

Reply to Wierzchos et al.: Microorganism-induced gypsum to anhydrite phase transformation

Huang

Ertekin

Wang

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Crystalline water in gypsum is unavailable for cyanobacteria in laboratory experiments and in natural desert endolithic habitats

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Present-day thermal and water activity environment of the Mars Sample Return collection

Present-day thermal and water activity environment of the Mars Sample Return collection

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

Reply to Wierzchos et al.: Microorganism-induced gypsum to anhydrite phase transformation

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