A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes

Nina Kopacz; Joleen Csuka; Mickael Baqué; Iaroslav Iakubivskyi; Hrefna Guðlaugardóttir; Ingeborg J. Klarenberg; Mahid Ahmed; Alexandra Zetterlind; Abhijeet Singh; Inge Loes ten Kate; Eric Hellebrand; Brent R. Stockwell; Árni B. Stefánsson; Oddur Vilhelmsson; Anna Neubeck; Anna Schnürer; Wolf Geppert

doi:10.1029/2022EA002234

A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes

Nina Kopacz, Joleen Csuka, Mickael Baqué, Iaroslav Iakubivskyi, Hrefna Guðlaugardóttir, Ingeborg J. Klarenberg, Mahid Ahmed, Alexandra Zetterlind, Abhijeet Singh, Inge Loes ten Kate, Eric Hellebrand, Brent R. Stockwell, Árni B. Stefánsson, Oddur Vilhelmsson, Anna Neubeck, Anna Schnürer, Wolf Geppert

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Lava tubes on Mars hold exciting potential for the preservation of biosignatures, which may survive on geological timescales in these isolated, stable environments. To support the development of future astrobiological mission concepts, we turn to terrestrial lava tubes, host to a variety of microbial communities and secondary minerals. Following a multidisciplinary sampling protocol, we retrieved biological, molecular, and mineralogical data from several lava tubes in Iceland. We report on blue-colored copper-rich secondary minerals and their associated bacterial communities using a multi-method approach, and an amalgam of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data sets. We found numerous bacterial genera known for their high metal resistance and ability to survive in low-nutrient environments. Both are characteristics to be expected for any potential life in Martian lava tubes, and should be considered when checking for contaminants in Mars mission preparations. Associated with the microbial mats, we identified several types of copper-rich secondary minerals, indicating localized copper enrichments in the groundwater, possibly stemming from overlying ash deposits and nearby hyaloclastite formations. Molecular analysis revealed carotenoid signals preserved within the copper speleothems. If found in Martian lava tubes, blue copper-rich mineral precipitates would be deserving of astrobiological investigation, as they have potential to preserve biosignatures and harbor life.

Original language	English
Article number	e2022EA002234
Pages (from-to)	1-21
Number of pages	21
Journal	Earth and Space Science
Volume	9
Issue number	5
Early online date	15 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002234
Publication status	Published - May 2022
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The Icelandic Speleological Society (ISS) was indispensable to this work, with in-depth knowledge of the terrain, and by doing their best to keep these caves in their pristine states by protecting them from human contamination by tourists or civilians, which is vital when collecting samples of microbial mats. Our guides Árni B. Stefánsson, Guðni Gunnarsson, and Ingólfur Páll Matthíasson were delightful to work with, and we thank them with the utmost reverence for their professionalism and for sharing these subterranean natural wonders with our team. Many thanks to Anett Blischke of the Icelandic GeoSurvey for constructing the geological map of Iceland in Figure 1. This work was supported by NWO ALWOP.274 and the University of Akureyri Research Fund (grant no. R1812). M.B. acknowledges the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) for the project “Raman Biosignatures for Astrobiology Research” (RaBioFAM; project number: 426601242) and of Geo.X, the Research Network for Geosciences in Berlin and Potsdam, for a travel grant. B.R.S. is an inventor of patents and patent applications involving small molecule therapeutics, co-founded and serves as a consultant to Inzen Therapeutics and Nevrox Limited, and serves as a consultant to Weatherwax Biotechnologies Corporation and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. The Icelandic Speleological Society (ISS) was indispensable to this work, with in‐depth knowledge of the terrain, and by doing their best to keep these caves in their pristine states by protecting them from human contamination by tourists or civilians, which is vital when collecting samples of microbial mats. Our guides Árni B. Stefánsson, Guðni Gunnarsson, and Ingólfur Páll Matthíasson were delightful to work with, and we thank them with the utmost reverence for their professionalism and for sharing these subterranean natural wonders with our team. Many thanks to Anett Blischke of the Icelandic GeoSurvey for constructing the geological map of Iceland in Figure 1 . This work was supported by NWO ALWOP.274 and the University of Akureyri Research Fund (grant no. R1812). M.B. acknowledges the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Foundation) for the project “Raman Biosignatures for Astrobiology Research” (RaBioFAM; project number: 426601242) and of Geo.X, the Research Network for Geosciences in Berlin and Potsdam, for a travel grant. B.R.S. is an inventor of patents and patent applications involving small molecule therapeutics, co‐founded and serves as a consultant to Inzen Therapeutics and Nevrox Limited, and serves as a consultant to Weatherwax Biotechnologies Corporation and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Funders	Funder number
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Icelandic Speleological Society
University of Akureyri Research Fund	R1812
Weatherwax Biotechnologies Corporation
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	426601242
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

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Kopacz, N., Csuka, J., Baqué, M., Iakubivskyi, I., Guðlaugardóttir, H., Klarenberg, I. J., Ahmed, M., Zetterlind, A., Singh, A., Kate, I. L. T., Hellebrand, E., Stockwell, B. R., Stefánsson, Á. B., Vilhelmsson, O., Neubeck, A., Schnürer, A., & Geppert, W. (2022). A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes. Earth and Space Science, 9(5), 1-21. Article e2022EA002234. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002234

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title = "A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes",

abstract = "Lava tubes on Mars hold exciting potential for the preservation of biosignatures, which may survive on geological timescales in these isolated, stable environments. To support the development of future astrobiological mission concepts, we turn to terrestrial lava tubes, host to a variety of microbial communities and secondary minerals. Following a multidisciplinary sampling protocol, we retrieved biological, molecular, and mineralogical data from several lava tubes in Iceland. We report on blue-colored copper-rich secondary minerals and their associated bacterial communities using a multi-method approach, and an amalgam of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data sets. We found numerous bacterial genera known for their high metal resistance and ability to survive in low-nutrient environments. Both are characteristics to be expected for any potential life in Martian lava tubes, and should be considered when checking for contaminants in Mars mission preparations. Associated with the microbial mats, we identified several types of copper-rich secondary minerals, indicating localized copper enrichments in the groundwater, possibly stemming from overlying ash deposits and nearby hyaloclastite formations. Molecular analysis revealed carotenoid signals preserved within the copper speleothems. If found in Martian lava tubes, blue copper-rich mineral precipitates would be deserving of astrobiological investigation, as they have potential to preserve biosignatures and harbor life.",

author = "Nina Kopacz and Joleen Csuka and Mickael Baqu{\'e} and Iaroslav Iakubivskyi and Hrefna Gu{\dh}laugard{\'o}ttir and Klarenberg, {Ingeborg J.} and Mahid Ahmed and Alexandra Zetterlind and Abhijeet Singh and Kate, {Inge Loes ten} and Eric Hellebrand and Stockwell, {Brent R.} and Stef{\'a}nsson, {{\'A}rni B.} and Oddur Vilhelmsson and Anna Neubeck and Anna Schn{\"u}rer and Wolf Geppert",

year = "2022",

month = may,

doi = "10.1029/2022EA002234",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "1--21",

journal = "Earth and Space Science",

issn = "2333-5084",

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Kopacz, N, Csuka, J, Baqué, M, Iakubivskyi, I, Guðlaugardóttir, H, Klarenberg, IJ, Ahmed, M, Zetterlind, A, Singh, A, Kate, ILT, Hellebrand, E, Stockwell, BR, Stefánsson, ÁB, Vilhelmsson, O, Neubeck, A, Schnürer, A & Geppert, W 2022, 'A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes', Earth and Space Science, vol. 9, no. 5, e2022EA002234, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002234

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes

AU - Kopacz, Nina

AU - Csuka, Joleen

AU - Baqué, Mickael

AU - Iakubivskyi, Iaroslav

AU - Guðlaugardóttir, Hrefna

AU - Klarenberg, Ingeborg J.

AU - Ahmed, Mahid

AU - Zetterlind, Alexandra

AU - Singh, Abhijeet

AU - Kate, Inge Loes ten

AU - Hellebrand, Eric

AU - Stockwell, Brent R.

AU - Stefánsson, Árni B.

AU - Vilhelmsson, Oddur

AU - Neubeck, Anna

AU - Schnürer, Anna

AU - Geppert, Wolf

PY - 2022/5

Y1 - 2022/5

N2 - Lava tubes on Mars hold exciting potential for the preservation of biosignatures, which may survive on geological timescales in these isolated, stable environments. To support the development of future astrobiological mission concepts, we turn to terrestrial lava tubes, host to a variety of microbial communities and secondary minerals. Following a multidisciplinary sampling protocol, we retrieved biological, molecular, and mineralogical data from several lava tubes in Iceland. We report on blue-colored copper-rich secondary minerals and their associated bacterial communities using a multi-method approach, and an amalgam of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data sets. We found numerous bacterial genera known for their high metal resistance and ability to survive in low-nutrient environments. Both are characteristics to be expected for any potential life in Martian lava tubes, and should be considered when checking for contaminants in Mars mission preparations. Associated with the microbial mats, we identified several types of copper-rich secondary minerals, indicating localized copper enrichments in the groundwater, possibly stemming from overlying ash deposits and nearby hyaloclastite formations. Molecular analysis revealed carotenoid signals preserved within the copper speleothems. If found in Martian lava tubes, blue copper-rich mineral precipitates would be deserving of astrobiological investigation, as they have potential to preserve biosignatures and harbor life.

AB - Lava tubes on Mars hold exciting potential for the preservation of biosignatures, which may survive on geological timescales in these isolated, stable environments. To support the development of future astrobiological mission concepts, we turn to terrestrial lava tubes, host to a variety of microbial communities and secondary minerals. Following a multidisciplinary sampling protocol, we retrieved biological, molecular, and mineralogical data from several lava tubes in Iceland. We report on blue-colored copper-rich secondary minerals and their associated bacterial communities using a multi-method approach, and an amalgam of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data sets. We found numerous bacterial genera known for their high metal resistance and ability to survive in low-nutrient environments. Both are characteristics to be expected for any potential life in Martian lava tubes, and should be considered when checking for contaminants in Mars mission preparations. Associated with the microbial mats, we identified several types of copper-rich secondary minerals, indicating localized copper enrichments in the groundwater, possibly stemming from overlying ash deposits and nearby hyaloclastite formations. Molecular analysis revealed carotenoid signals preserved within the copper speleothems. If found in Martian lava tubes, blue copper-rich mineral precipitates would be deserving of astrobiological investigation, as they have potential to preserve biosignatures and harbor life.

U2 - 10.1029/2022EA002234

DO - 10.1029/2022EA002234

M3 - Article

SN - 2333-5084

VL - 9

SP - 1

EP - 21

JO - Earth and Space Science

JF - Earth and Space Science

IS - 5

M1 - e2022EA002234

ER -

A Study in Blue: Secondary Copper‐Rich Minerals and Their Associated Bacterial Diversity in Icelandic Lava Tubes

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