Abstract
Microorganisms deep in the Martian soil could derive energy indirectly from the sun via chemical reactions involving atmospheric photolysis products of the solar ultraviolet flux. The Viking discovery of a chemically uniform regolith which, though poor in organics, is rich in sulfur-containing compounds suggests reaction sequences in which sulfur is recycled through reduced and oxidized states by biologically catalyzed reactions with photochemically-produced atmospheric constitutents. One candidate reaction, reduction of soil sulfate minerals by molecular hydrogen, is already exploited on earth by bacteria of the ubiquitous and tenaciousDesulfovibrio genus.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barghoorn, E. S. and Nichols, R. L.: 1961,Science 134, 190.
Bell, G. R., Legall, J., and Peck, H. D.: 1974,J. Bacteriol. 120, 994–997.
Biemann, K., Oro, J., Toulmin III, P., Orgel, L. E., Nier, A. O., Anderson, D. M., Simmonds, P. G., Flory, D., Diaz, A. V., Rushneck, D. R., Biller, J. E., and Lafleur, A. L.: 1977,J. geophys. Res. 82, 4641–4658.
Bowen, H. J.: 1966,Trace Elements in Biochemistry, Academic Press, New York.
Clark, B. C.: 1978,Icarus 34, 645–665.
Clark, B. C., Baird, A. K., Rose, H. J., Toulmin III, P., Keil, K., Castro, A. J., Kelliher, W. C., Rowe, C. D., and Evans, P.: 1976,Science 194, 1283–1288.
Daniels, L., Fuchs, G., Thauer, R. K., and Zeikus, J. G.: 1977,J. Bacteriol. 132, 118–126.
Davis, J. B.: 1967,Petroleum Microbiology, Elsevier Publ. Co., Amsterdam.
Delwiche, D. C.: 1967 inSoil Biochemistry (eds. A. D. McLaren and G. H. Peterson), pp. 173–193.
Fanale, F. P.: 1976,Icarus 28, 179–202.
Garrels, R. M., and Christ, C. L.: 1965,Solutions, Minerals and Equilibria, Harper and Row, New York.
Horowitz, N. H., Hobby, G. L., and Hubbard, J. S.: 1976,Science 194, 1321–1322.
Horowitz, N. H., Hobby, G. L., and Hubbard, J. S.: 1977,J. geophys. Res. 82, 4659–4662.
Hubbard, J. S., Hardy, J. P., Woecks, G. E. and Golub, E. E.: 1973,J. Molec. Evol. 2, 149–166.
Huguenin, R. L., Prinn, R. G., and Maderazzo, M.: 1977,Icarus,32, 270–298.
Hunten, D. M., and McElroy, M. B.: 1970,J. geophys. Res. 75, 5989–6001.
Hunten, D. M.: 1974,Rev. Geophys. Space Physics 12, 529–535.
Inman, R. E., Ingersoll, R. B., and Levy, E. A.: 1971,Science 172, 1229–1231.
Kieffer, H. H.: 1977,Science 194, 1344–1346.
Klein, H. P.: 1977,J. geophys. Res. 82, 4677–4680.
Lederberg, J.: 1970,J. Appl. Optics 8, 1269–1270.
Lees, H.: 1955,Biochemistry of Autotrophic Bacteria, Butterworth Scientific Publications, London.
Levin, G. V., and Straat, P. A.: 1976,Science 194, 1322–1329.
Liu, S. C., and Donahue, T. M.: 1976,Icarus 28, 231–246.
McElroy, M. B., and Donahue, T. M.: 1972,Science 177, 986–988.
McElroy, M. B., and Kong, T. V.: 1976,Geophys. Res. Lett. 3, 569–572.
Mitz, M. A.: 1974,Origins of Life 5, 457–462.
Ogata, G., and Bower, C. A.: 1965,Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 29, 23–25.
Owen, T., Biemann, K., Rushneck, D. R., Biller, J. E., Howarth, D. W., and Lafleur, A. L.: 1977,J. geophys. Res. 82, 4635–4640.
Oyama, V. I., Berdahl, B. J., and Carle, G. C.: 1977,Nature 265, 110–114.
Ponnamperuma, C., Shimoyama, A., Yamada, M., Hobo, T., and Pal, R.: 1977,Science 197, 455–457.
Postgate, J. R.: 1965,Bacteriol. Rev. 29, 425–441.
Postgate, J.: 1970,Nature 226, 978.
Sagan, C., and Pollack, J. B.: 1974,Icarus 21, 490–495.
Sagan, C., and Mullen, G.: 1972,Science 177, 52–56.
Silverman, M. P., and Ehrlich, H. J.: 1964, inApplied Microbiology, W. W. Umbreit (ed.), Academic Press, New York,6, 153–206.
Weast, R. C.: 1975,Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 56th ed., CRC Press, Cleveland, Ohio.
Wolfgang, R.: 1970,Nature 225, 876.
Yung, Y. L., Strobel, D. F., Kong, T. Y., and McElroy, M. C.: 1977,Icarus 30, 26–41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clark, B.C. Solar-driven chemical energy source for a Martian biota. Origins Life Evol Biosphere 9, 241–249 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00932498
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00932498