Cargando…

Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars

Observational evidence supports the presence of methane (CH(4)) in the martian atmosphere on the order of parts per billion by volume (ppbv). Here, we assess whether aerobic methanotrophy is a potentially viable metabolism in the martian upper regolith, by calculating metabolic energy gain rates und...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Seto, Mayumi, Noguchi, Katsuyuki, Cappellen, Philippe Van
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6785171/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31173512
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1943
_version_ 1783457844811530240
author Seto, Mayumi
Noguchi, Katsuyuki
Cappellen, Philippe Van
author_facet Seto, Mayumi
Noguchi, Katsuyuki
Cappellen, Philippe Van
author_sort Seto, Mayumi
collection PubMed
description Observational evidence supports the presence of methane (CH(4)) in the martian atmosphere on the order of parts per billion by volume (ppbv). Here, we assess whether aerobic methanotrophy is a potentially viable metabolism in the martian upper regolith, by calculating metabolic energy gain rates under assumed conditions of martian surface temperature, pressure, and atmospheric composition. Using kinetic parameters for 19 terrestrial aerobic methanotrophic strains, we show that even under the imposed low temperature and pressure extremes (180–280 K and 6–11 hPa), methane oxidation by oxygen (O(2)) should in principle be able to generate the minimum energy production rate required to support endogenous metabolism (i.e., cellular maintenance). Our results further indicate that the corresponding metabolic activity would be extremely low, with cell doubling times in excess of 4000 Earth years at the present-day ppbv-level CH(4) mixing ratios in the atmosphere of Mars. Thus, while aerobic methanotrophic microorganisms similar to those found on Earth could theoretically maintain their vital functions, they are unlikely to constitute prolific members of hypothetical martian soil communities.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6785171
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2019
publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-67851712019-10-10 Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars Seto, Mayumi Noguchi, Katsuyuki Cappellen, Philippe Van Astrobiology Research Articles Observational evidence supports the presence of methane (CH(4)) in the martian atmosphere on the order of parts per billion by volume (ppbv). Here, we assess whether aerobic methanotrophy is a potentially viable metabolism in the martian upper regolith, by calculating metabolic energy gain rates under assumed conditions of martian surface temperature, pressure, and atmospheric composition. Using kinetic parameters for 19 terrestrial aerobic methanotrophic strains, we show that even under the imposed low temperature and pressure extremes (180–280 K and 6–11 hPa), methane oxidation by oxygen (O(2)) should in principle be able to generate the minimum energy production rate required to support endogenous metabolism (i.e., cellular maintenance). Our results further indicate that the corresponding metabolic activity would be extremely low, with cell doubling times in excess of 4000 Earth years at the present-day ppbv-level CH(4) mixing ratios in the atmosphere of Mars. Thus, while aerobic methanotrophic microorganisms similar to those found on Earth could theoretically maintain their vital functions, they are unlikely to constitute prolific members of hypothetical martian soil communities. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2019-10-01 2019-10-03 /pmc/articles/PMC6785171/ /pubmed/31173512 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1943 Text en © Mayumi Seto et al., 2019; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Seto, Mayumi
Noguchi, Katsuyuki
Cappellen, Philippe Van
Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title_full Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title_fullStr Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title_full_unstemmed Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title_short Potential for Aerobic Methanotrophic Metabolism on Mars
title_sort potential for aerobic methanotrophic metabolism on mars
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6785171/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31173512
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1943
work_keys_str_mv AT setomayumi potentialforaerobicmethanotrophicmetabolismonmars
AT noguchikatsuyuki potentialforaerobicmethanotrophicmetabolismonmars
AT cappellenphilippevan potentialforaerobicmethanotrophicmetabolismonmars