An Unusual Inverted Saline Microbial Mat Community in an Interdune Sabkha in the Rub' al Khali (the Empty Quarter), United Arab Emirates

Autor: Marisa H. Mayer, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Jon Rask, Jackson Z. Lee, Adrian A. L. Caraballo, Christopher P. McKay, Angela M. Detweiler, R. Craig Everroad, Asma Al-Farraj, Meshgan Al-Awar, Bennett J. Kapili, Brad M. Bebout
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Salinity
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Geochemistry
lcsh:Medicine
Artificial Gene Amplification and Extension
Physical Chemistry
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Biochemistry
01 natural sciences
Database and Informatics Methods
Microbial mat
lcsh:Science
Sedimentary Geology
Sabkha
Multidisciplinary
geography.geographical_feature_category
Microbiota
Geology
Mars Exploration Program
Nucleic acids
Chemistry
Ribosomal RNA
Physical Sciences
Halite
Water Microbiology
Methane
Sequence Analysis
Research Article
Chemical Elements
Salt pan
Cell biology
Cellular structures and organelles
Sequence Databases
United Arab Emirates
engineering.material
Research and Analysis Methods
Life on Mars
03 medical and health sciences
Molecular Biology Techniques
Sequencing Techniques
Non-coding RNA
Molecular Biology
Ecosystem
Petrology
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
geography
Bacteria
lcsh:R
Chemical Compounds
Biology and Life Sciences
Archaea
Arid
Oxygen
Biological Databases
030104 developmental biology
Chemical Properties
Earth Sciences
engineering
RNA
Sediment
lcsh:Q
Ribosomes
Groundwater
Cloning
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 3, p e0150342 (2016)
PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Salt flats (sabkha) are a recognized habitat for microbial life in desert environments and as analogs of habitats for possible life on Mars. Here we report on the physical setting and microbiology of interdune sabkhas among the large dunes in the Rub' al Khali (the Empty Quarter) in Liwa Oasis, United Arab Emirates. The salt flats, composed of gypsum and halite, are moistened by relatively fresh ground water. The result is a salinity gradient that is inverted compared to most salt flat communities with the hypersaline layer at the top and freshwater layers below. We describe and characterize a rich photosynthetically-based microbial ecosystem that is protected from the arid outside environment by a translucent salt crust. Gases collected from sediments under shallow ponds in the sabkha contain methane in concentrations as high as 3400 ppm. The salt crust could preserve biomarkers and other evidence for life in the salt after it dries out. Chloride-filled depressions have been identified on Mars and although surface flow of water is unlikely on Mars today, ground water is possible. Such a near surface system with modern groundwater flowing under ancient salt deposits could be present on Mars and could be accessed by surface rovers.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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