{"id":7648,"date":"2016-06-14T18:07:16","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T18:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/?post_type=publication&#038;p=7635"},"modified":"2016-10-14T19:06:39","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T19:06:39","slug":"olivine-respiring-bacteria-isolated-from-the-rock-ice-interface-in-a-lava-tube-cave-a-mars-analog-environment","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/publication\/olivine-respiring-bacteria-isolated-from-the-rock-ice-interface-in-a-lava-tube-cave-a-mars-analog-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivine-Respiring Bacteria Isolated from the Rock-Ice Interface in a Lava-Tube Cave, a Mars Analog Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The boundary between ice and basalt on Earth is an analogue for some near-surface environments of Mars. We investigated neutrophilic iron-oxidizing microorganisms from the basalt-ice interface in a lava tube from the Oregon Cascades with perennial ice. One of the isolates (<em>Pseudomonas<\/em> sp. HerB) can use ferrous iron Fe(II) from the igneous mineral olivine as an electron donor and O<sub>2<\/sub> as an electron acceptor. The optimum growth temperature is \u223c12\u201314\u00b0C, but growth also occurs at 5\u00b0C. Bicarbonate is a facultative source of carbon. Growth of <em>Pseudomonas<\/em> sp. HerB as a chemolithotrophic iron oxidizer with olivine as the source of energy is favored in low O<sub>2<\/sub> conditions (<em>e.g<\/em>.<em>,<\/em> 1.6% O<sub>2<\/sub>). Most likely, microbial oxidation of olivine near pH 7 requires low O<sub>2<\/sub> to offset the abiotic oxidation of iron. The metabolic capabilities of this bacterium would allow it to live in near-surface, icy, volcanic environments of Mars in the present or recent geological past and make this type of physiology a prime candidate in the search for life on Mars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","tags":[],"publication_type":[19],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/7648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7648"},{"taxonomy":"publication_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darkenergybiosphere.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_type?post=7648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}