Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities are microbial ecosystems dwelling inside rocks of the Antarctic desert. We present the first 18 shotgun metagenomes from these communities to further characterize their composition, biodiversity, functionality, and adaptation. Future studies will integrate taxonomic and functional annotations to examine the pathways necessary for life to evolve in the extremes.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01599-19 | DOI Listing |
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Deletion of the polyketide synthase-encoding gene pks1 prevents melanization in the extremophilic fungus Cryomyces antarcticus.
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Astrobiology
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Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada.
In the search for life in our Solar System, Mars remains a promising target based on its proximity and similarity to Earth. When Mars transitioned from a warmer, wetter climate to its current dry and freezing conditions, any putative extant life probably retreated into habitable refugia such as the subsurface or the interior of rocks. Terrestrial cryptoendolithic microorganisms ( those inhabiting rock interiors) thus represent possible modern-day Mars analogs, particularly those from the hyperarid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica.
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Front Microbiol
November 2022
Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Largo dell'Università snc, Viterbo, Italy.
Article Synopsis
- Recent Mars lander evidence shows perchlorate salts are widespread in the Martian regolith, raising concerns as a potential chemical hazard for life forms.
- The study highlights parallels between Martian perchlorate presence and extreme environments on Earth, particularly in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys, an analogue for Martian conditions.
- An Italian astrobiology project tested a black fungus from Antarctica under Martian-like conditions, finding it exhibits good survival and metabolic recovery on perchlorate mediums, indicating its potential resilience to Martian environments.
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