Biologically–induced elemental variations in Antarctic sandstones: A potential test for Martian micro-organisms

International Journal of Astrobiology

Volumn 3, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 97-106

  Blackhurst, Rebecca L ^a,b,c   Jarvis, Kym ^b   Grady, Monica M ^c  

^a IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b KINGSTON UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c DEPARTMENT OF LIFE SCIENCES   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Analogues of Martian life forms; Antarctic Dry Valleys; Cryptoendolithic lichens; Oxalic acid; Sandstone chemistry

Indexed keywords

EID: 31844445896     PISSN: 14735504     EISSN: 14753006     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S147355040400206X     Document Type: Article

References (13)

1. Barker, W.W., Welch, S.A. & Banfield, J.F. (1997). Biogeochemical weathering of silicate minerals. In Geomicrobiology: Interactions Between Microbes and Minerals (Reviews in Mineralogy, 35), eds Banfield, J.F. & Nealson, K.H. Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC.
2. Campbell, I.B. & Claridge, G.G.C. (1987). Antarctica: Soils, Weathering Processes and Environment (Developments in Soil Science, 16). Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam.
3. Edwards, H.G.M., Russell, N.C. & Wynn-Williams, D.D. (1997). Fourier transform Raman spectroscopic and scanning electron microscopic study of cryptoendolithic lichens from Antarctica. J. Raman Spectrosc. 28, 685–690.
4. Friedmann, E.I. (1982). Endolithic micro-organisms in the Antarctic cold desert. Science 215, 1045–1053.
5. Friedmann, E.I. & Ocampo-Friedmann, R. (1984). Endolithic microorganisms in extreme dry environments: analysis of a lithobiotic microbial habitat. In Current Perspectives in Microbial Ecology, eds Klug, M.J. & Reddy, C.A., 710 pp. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC.
6. Friedmann, E.I., Hua, M. & Ocampo-Friedmann, R. (1988). Cryptoendolithic lichen and cyanobacterial communities of the Ross Desert, Antarctica. Polarforschung 58, 251–259.
7. Johnson, C.G. & Vestal, J.R. (1993). Biogeochemistry of oxalate in the Antarctic cryptoendolithic lichen dominated community. Microbial Ecology 25, 305–319.
8. Ocampo-Friedmann, R. & Friedmann, E.I. (1993). Biologically active substances produced by Antarctic Cryptoendolithic fungi. Antarctic J. US. 28, 252–254.
9. Russell, N.C., Edwards, H.G.M. & Wynn-Williams, D.D. (1998). FT-Raman spectroscopic analysis of endolithic microbial communities from Beacon sandstone in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Sci. 10, 63–74.
10. Sterflinger, K. (2000). Fungi as geologic agents. Geomicrobiol. J. 17, 97–124.
11. Sun, H.J. & Friedmann, E.I. (1999). Growth on geological timescales in the Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial community. Geomicrobiol. J. 16, 193–202.
12. Vestal, J.R. (1988). Carbon metabolism of the cryptoendolithic microbiota from the Antarctic desert. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 54, 960–965.
13. Wynn-Williams, D.D. & Edwards, H.G.M. (2000). Proximal analysis of regolith habitats and protective biomolecules in situ by laser Raman spectroscopy: overview of terrestrial Antarctic habitats and Mars analogues. Icarus 144, 486–503.