• Login
    View Item 
    •   Shocker Open Access Repository Home
    • Undergraduate Student Research
    • URCAF: Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum
    • URCAF Abstracts 2022
    • View Item
    •   Shocker Open Access Repository Home
    • Undergraduate Student Research
    • URCAF: Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum
    • URCAF Abstracts 2022
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Life trapped in ice: Microbial survival and activity within melted brines in layered ices relevant to mars

    View/Open
    Abstract.pdf (48.73Kb)
    Date
    2022-04-15
    Author
    Janes, Logan
    Schneegurt, Mark A.
    Advisor
    Schneegurt, Mark A.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Janes, Logan; Schneegurt, Mark A.. 2022. Life trapped in ice: Microbial survival and activity within melted brines in layered ices relevant to mars -- In Proceedings: 21st Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p. 27
    Abstract
    Mars is a prime candidate for supporting living systems. Since liquid water is rare, Martian life might exist inside brine near the surface trapped between layers of pure water ice from frost and aeolian regolith deposits. Our lab examines whether salinotolerant bacteria including Marinococcus sp. str. HL11, Halomonas sp. str. BLE7, and Halomonas sp. str. GSP3 can survive and metabolize under artificial Martian conditions. The configuration that might best mimic natural Mars ices is ice lenses where pockets of bacterial cultures are entirely surrounded by pure water ice. We hope liquid culture encased in ice will prevent edge effects from containers. The ice lenses are created by freezing a layer of pure water with a central depression. Salty bacterial cultures are frozen in this well and pure water is frozen as a top layer. The salty culture melts at a lower temperature than the surrounding ice, so experiments can be performed with liquid culture encased in ice. A culture lens at 15% NaCl will melt at -12 °C, while the water ice layers remain frozen. We are working to understand how cells respond to entrapment inside the brine lens, including performing assays with XTT to study respiration and measuring survival rates with dilution plating. We believe that cells settle inside the lens and create a biofilm. This project will inform the search for life on Mars by identifying suitable habitats to target and contribute to planetary protection protocols by characterizing the limits of life. Funded by NASA and FYRE.
    Description
    Presented to the 21st Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum (URCAF) held at the Rhatigan Student Center, Wichita State University, April 15, 2022.
    URI
    https://soar.wichita.edu/handle/10057/23201
    Collections
    • URCAF Abstracts 2022

    Browse

    All of Shocker Open Access RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsBy TypeThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsBy Type

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2023  DuraSpace
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV