Deep Microbial Colonization in Saponite-Bearing Fractures in Aged Basaltic Crust: Implications for Subsurface Life on Mars.

ABSTRACT: One of the most promising planetary bodies that might harbor extraterrestrial life is Mars, given the presence of liquid water in the deep subsurface. The upper crust of Mars is mainly composed of >3.7-billion-year-old basaltic lava where heat-driven fluid circulation is negligible. The analogous crustal environment to the Martian subsurface is found in the Earth's oceanic crust composed of basaltic lava. The basaltic crust tends to cool down for 10-20-million-years after formation. However, microbial life in old cold basaltic lava is largely unknown even in the Earth's oceanic crust, because the lack of vigorous circulation prevents sampling of pristine crustal fluid from boreholes. Alternatively, it is important to investigate deep microbial life using pristine drill cores obtained from

SUBMITTER: Sueoka Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6906187 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature