Bacteria living in the extreme environment of volcanic lakes are suspected to hold the key to the secrets of the inhabitable Martian terrains. The theory was being eyed by the experts for a while now, considering that the places these type of bacteria lives are full of acidic fluids and toxic metals.
Extremophiles: Bacteria Living on Harsh Conditions
he crater of the Poas volcano at the Poas Volcano National Park, 50km from San Jose, on July 4, 2014. Costa Rica hopes to capitalize for its touristic industry the publicity got by the good performance of its national football team in the World Cup Brazil 2014.
The bacteria, called extremophiles, reside in the massive Costa Rican volcano named Poas. The place is not a typical ecosystem, as it contains intense temperature and destructive compounds. University of Colorado Boulder experts presented their recent findings about the extremophile bacteria, and how they became adaptive to the hellish environment.
According to a report by DailyMail, the organisms survived in their boiling habitats through various adaptations. In many years, the bacteria were able to create energy on their own using elements found on the lake, such as iron, arsenic, and sulfur.
The authors of the study said that the conditions present in Poas volcanic lake are close to the terrains that appeared on Mars during its early age. Throughout the history of astronomical research, it was long believed that the ancient Martian volcanoes may have contributed to the birth of life on the red planet.
The water in the Poas volcano crater contains an intense temperature that surpasses any natural water on Earth. The recorded heat from the lake's water is near the boiling point, a reason enough to keep any living creatures away from the area. The acidity on the lake's fluids measures up to ten million times the common beverages, making water impossible to be consumed.
The conditions in the Poas volcanic lake are usually compared with the early primordial soup that covered our planet during its early age. The vast bodies of water, even though hostile, are theorized to play host in the evolution of the basic lifeforms on Earth. The same intense hot springs are also thought to have manifested in Mars, back when the red planet still contained water flowing throughout its surface.
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Volcanic Bacteria Potential Solution to How Life on Mars Formed
University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics expert Justin Wang, who co-authored the study, said that their team found a couple of organisms from the lake that would possibly explain how to survive the severe environment. According to the expert, they believe that the bacteria thrived on the lake fringes whenever the lake erupts.
Through the survival skills of the microbes, a wide array of genes was accumulated, producing the extremophiles that ultimately perfected the ability to thrive in such harsh conditions.
Previous studies from the institute revealed that the 100-feet deep volcanic lake was home to a single bacterial species called Acidiphilium, which is frequently found in coal mine drainage. However, the new paper found more than one organism. The findings could be linked to the evidence gathered by the NASA Perseverance rover through its current mission along the Jezero crater. The region, located near the Martian equator, is theorized to have been full of running water during the planet's early history.
Wang said that their study presents the complex phases on how 'Earth life' was birthed on the Martian hydrothermal conditions. But the question of whether life existed on the red planet and if they are similar to earthly organisms remains unsolved. The authors hope their findings could fill a gap in the ongoing search for life on Mars.
The study was published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, titled "Microbial Survival in an Extreme Martian Analog Ecosystem: Poás Volcano, Costa Rica."
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