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Seminar Detail
Earth's Low Temperature Life: An Analog for Mars and Europa?
Presenter: Jody Deming and James Staley (University of Washington)
March 31, 2008 11:00 AM Pacific
Earth's solar system harbors many frozen environments that contain liquid water and therefore present a rationale to consider the possibility of microbial life within them. The subsurface realms of Mars and Europa are two such examples. Among the many different types of frozen environments on Earth, sea ice has captured astrobiological attention for its retention of significant liquid water (brine) even as the eutectic of seawater is approached (-55 C), and because liquid water on Mars and Europa is expected to be salty as well. We have each explored this environment as a model system for studying various ecological, physiological and diversity aspects of microbial life at very low temperatures. A critical determinant of many life processes in very cold saline ice appears to be the presence of organic exopolymers which serve multiple functions as they coat a cell, from enhancing cryopreservation to enabling metabolic activity. One psychrophilic or cold-adapted bacterium isolated from Arctic sea ice and brought into pure culture, Psychromonas ingrahamii, has been shown to grow at temperatures of -12 C or lower. The recent sequencing of its genome is providing new information about the properties that help explain the adaptation of life to subzero temperatures.
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The Director’s Seminar series features talks from scientists who are invited by the NAI Director to present their research results to the community. A primary goal of the seminars is to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration across NAI teams and within the astrobiology community at large.
Team Overview Seminars describe the work of the fourteen NAI teams and NAI Central. They offer an opportunity to find out more about the science, E/PO and other activities being performed by the NAI teams and the NAI Central office.
The Forum for Astrobiology Research (FAR) provides an opportunity for graduate students to present their research results and to meet as a student community for networking and mutual support.
The University of Washington seminar series is hosted by the NAI Virtual Planetary Lab (VPL) team from the UW campus in Seattle.
