Premium
METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF MICROORGANISMS IN EVAPORITES 1
Author(s) -
Rothschild Lynn J.,
Giver Lorraine J.,
White Melisa R.,
Mancinelli Rocco L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1994.00431.x
Subject(s) - evaporite , halite , microorganism , gypsum , biology , seawater , astrobiology , salt (chemistry) , ecology , paleontology , bacteria , chemistry , sedimentary rock
Crystalline salt is generally considered so hostile to most forms of life that it has been used for centuries as a preservative. Here, we present evidence that prokaryotes inhabiting a natural evaporite crust of halite and gypsum are metabolically active while inside the evaporite for at least 10 months. In situ measurements demonstrated that some of these “endoevaporitic” microorganisms (probably the cyanobacterium Synechococcus Nägeli) fixed carbon and nitrogen. Denitrifecation was not observed. Our results quantified the slow microbial activity that can occur in salt crystals. Implications of this study include the possibility that microorganisms found in ancient evaporite deposits may have been part of an evaporite community.