Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microbial Life in Terrestrial Permafrost: Methanogenesis and Nitrification in Gelisols as Potentials for Exobiological Process

  • Chapter
Astrobiology

Abstract

The comparability of environmental and climatic conditions of the early Mars and Earth is of special interest for the actual research in astrobiology. Martian surface and terrestrial permafrost areas show similar morphological structures, which suggests that their development is based on comparable processes. Soil microbial investigations of adaptation strategies of microorganisms from terrestrial permafrost in combination with environmental, geochemical and physical analyses give insights into early stages of life on Earth. The extreme conditions in terrestrial permafrost soils can help to understand the evolution of life on early Mars and help searching for possible niches of life on present Mars or in other extraterrestrial permafrost habitats [1, 2].

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. R.A. Wharton Jr., C.P. McKay, R.L. Mancinelli, G.M. Simmons Jr., Adv. Space Res. 9, 147(1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. G. Horneck, Planet. Space Sci., in press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Soil Survey Staff, Keys to Soil Taxonomy. Lincoln, Nebraska. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  4. H.M. French, The periglacial environment. Longman, Westminster, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  5. R.A. Herbert, in: R.A. Herbert, G.A. Cod (Eds.) The ecology and physiology of psychrophilic microorganisms, Microbes in extreme environments, Academic Press, London 1996, pp. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  6. E.D. Yershov, General Geochryology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. A.M. Gounot, J. Appl. Bacteriol. 71, 386 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  8. N.J. Russel, T. Hamamoto, in: K. Horokoshi, W.D. Grant, (Eds.) Extremophiles: microbial life in extreme environments, Wiley, New York, 1998, pp. 25.

    Google Scholar 

  9. R.Y. Morita, Bacteriol. Rev. 39, 144 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  10. E. Rivkina, E.I. Friedmann, C.P. McKay, D. Gilichinsky, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 3230 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. R.Y. Morita, in: J. Lederberg, (Ed.) Encyclopedia of microbiology, Academic Press, San Diego, 1992, pp. 625.

    Google Scholar 

  12. A.A. Ananyan, Merzlotnye Issledovaniya 10, 267 (1970) (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  13. V.E. Ostroumov, C. Siegert, Adv. Space Res. 18, 79 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. J. McGrath, S. Wagener, D.A. Gilichinsky, in: D.A. Gilichinsky (Ed.) Viable micro-organsisms in permafrost, Pushchino Research Centre, Pushchino, 1994, pp. 48.

    Google Scholar 

  15. N.J. Russel, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. 326, 595 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. T. Shi, R.H. Reeves, D.A. Gilichinsky, E.I. Friedmann, (1997). Microb. Ecol. 33, 169 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. E. Lebedeva, V. Soina, in: D.A. Gilichinsky (Ed.) Viable microorganisms in permafrost, 1st Int. Conference on Cryopedology and Global Change, November 1992, Pushchino Research Centre, Pushchino, 1994, pp. 74.

    Google Scholar 

  18. D.A. Gilichinsky, E.A. Vorobyova, L.G. Erokhina, D.G. Fyordorov-Dayvdov, N.R. Chaikovskya, Adv. Space Res. 12(4), 255 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. R.Y. Morita, Microbial Ecology 38, 307 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. J.L. Garcia, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 87, 297 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. U. Deppenmeier, V. Müllier, G. Gottschalk, Arch. Microbiol. 165, 149 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. W.B. Whitman, T.C. Bowen, D.R. Boone, in: A. Balows, H.G. Trüper, M. Dworkin, W. Harder, K.H Schleifer, (Eds.) The Prokaryotes, Springer Verlag, New York, 1992, pp.719.

    Google Scholar 

  23. A.M. Gounot, in: R. Margesin, F. Schinner (Eds.) Cold-adapted organisms, Springer, Berlin, 1999, pp. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  24. D.E. Robertson, D. Noll, M.F. Roberts, J.A. Menaia, D.R. Boone, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56, 563 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  25. E. Rivkina, E.I. Friedmann, C.P. McKay, D.A. Gilichinsky, Geomicrobiology 15, 187 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. V. Peters, R. Conrad, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 61, 1673 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  27. K.O. Stetter, G. Fiala, G. Huber, R. Huber, A. Segerer, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 75, 117 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. S.W. Watson, E. Bock, H. Harms, H.P. Koops, A.B. Hooper, in: J.T. Staley, M.P. Bryant, N. Pfennig, J.G. Holt (Eds.) Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 1st Ed., Vol 3, Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1989, pp. 1808.

    Google Scholar 

  29. E. Bock, H.-P. Koops, in: A. Balows, H.G. Trüper, M. Dworkin, W. Harder, K.H. Schleifer, (Eds.) The Prokaryotes, Springer Verlag, New York, 1992, pp. 2302.

    Google Scholar 

  30. H.-P. Koops, U.C. Möller, in: A. Balows, H.G. Trüper, M. Dworkin, W. Harder, K.H. Schleifer (Eds.) The Prokaryotes, Springer Verlag, New York, 1992, pp: 2625.

    Google Scholar 

  31. A. Teske, E. Alm, J.M. Regan, S. Toze, B.E. Rittmann, D.A. Stahl, J. Bacteriol. 176, 6623 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  32. S. Ehrich, D. Behrens, E. Lebedeva, W. Ludwig, E. Bock, Arch. Microbiol. 164, 16 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. E. Spieck, E. Bock, in: G.M. Garrity, S.T. Williams, J.T. Staley, D.J. Brenner, J.G. Holt, D.R. Boone, R.W. Castenholz, N.R. Krieg, K.H. Schleifer (Eds.) Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd Ed., Vol 1, Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  34. R. Stüven, E. Bock, Wat. Res. 35(8), 1905 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. K. Wilson, J.I. Sprent, D.W. Hopkins, Nature 385, 404 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. R. Mansch, E. Bock, Biodegradation 9, 47 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. J.K. Fredrickson, T.R. Garland, R.J. Hicks, J.M. Thomas, S.W. Li, K.M. McFadden, Geomicrobiol. J. 7, 53 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. L. Lin, Kompatible Solute in nitrifizierenden Bakterien, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  39. R. Conrad, Microbiol. Rev. 60, 609 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  40. D. Wagner, E.M. Pfeiffer, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 22, 145 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. E. Rivkina, D. Gilichinsky, S. Wagener, T. Tiedje, J. McGrath, Geomicrobiol. 15, 187(1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. V.S. Soina, E.V. Lebedeva, O.V. Golyshina, D.G. Fedorov-Davydov, D.A. Gilichinsky. Microbiologia 60, 187 (1991) (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  43. I. Friedmann, in: D.A. Gilichinsky (Ed.) Viable microorganisms in permafrost, 1st Int. Conference on Cryopedology and Global Change, November 1992, Pushchino Research Centre, Pushchino, 1994, pp. 21.

    Google Scholar 

  44. N.S. Panikov, in: W.C. Oechel, (Ed.) A kinetic approach to microbial ecology in arctic and boreal ecosystems in relation to global change. Global change and arctic terrestrial ecosystems, Springer, Berlin, 1997, pp. 171.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  45. V.A. Samarkin, A. Gundelwein, E.M. Pfeiffer, in: H. Kassens, H.A. Bauch, I.A. Dmitrenko, H. Eicken, H.-W. Hubberten, M. Melles, J. Thiede, L.A. Timokhov (Eds.) Land-ocean systems in the Siberian arctic, Springer, Berlin, 1999, pp. 329.

    Google Scholar 

  46. E.-M. Pfeiffer, D. Wagner, H. Becker, A. Vlasenko, L. Kutzbach, J. Boike, W. Quass, W. Kloss, B. Schulz, A. Kurchatova, V.I. Pozdnyakov, I. Akhmadeeva, in: V. Rachold, M.N. Gregoriev (Eds.) Russian-German cooperation System Laptev Sea 2000: The Expedition Lean 1999, Reports Polar Res. 354, 22 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  47. O.R. Kotsyurbenko, M.V. Simankova, A.N. Nozhevnikova, T.N. Zhilina, N.P. Bolotina, A.M. Lysenko, G.A. Osipov, Arch. Microbiol. 163, 29 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. M.V. Omelchenko, L.V. Vasilyeva, G.A. Zavarzin, Curr. Microbiol. 27, 255 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. G. Finne, J.R. Matches, Can. J. Microbiol. 20, 1639 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. H. Janssen, Anreicherung, Isolierung und Charakterisierung nitrifizierender und methylotropher Bakterien aus Permafrostboden, Diploma Thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  51. P.D. Franzmann, Y. Liu, D.L. Balkwill, H.C. Aldrich, E. Conway de Macario, D.R. Boone, Antarctica. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 47, 1068 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. K.P. Putzer, L.A. Buchholz, M.E. Lidstrom, C.C. Remsen, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57, 3656(1991).

    Google Scholar 

  53. R.I. Amann, W. Ludwig, K.-H. Schleifer, Microbiol. Rev. 59, 143 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  54. L. Raskin, J.M. Stromley, B.E. Rittmann, D.A. Stahl, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60, 1232(1994).

    Google Scholar 

  55. S. Bartosch, I. Wolgast, E. Spieck, E. Bock, Appl. Environ. Microbiol 65, 4126 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  56. C. Pinck, C. Coeur, P. Potier, E. Bock, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67, 118 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. C. Hartwig, Anreicherung von Nitrospira aus Naturproben, Diploma Thesis, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  58. S. Bartosch, C. Hartwig, E. Spieck, E. Bock, Detection of Nitrospira-like bacteria in various soils, submitted.

    Google Scholar 

  59. J.R. Vestal, D.C. White, Bioscience 39, 535 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. S. Ohtsubo, M. Kanno, G. Miyahara, S. Kohno, Y. Koga, I. Miura, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 12, 39 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. A. Lipski, E. Spieck, A. Makolla, K.H. Altendorf, Fatty acid profiles of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria reflect their phylogenetic heterogeneity, submitted.

    Google Scholar 

  62. F. Rothfuss, R. Conrad, Biogeochem. 18, 137 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. T. Christensen, Biogeochem. 21, 117 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. O.R. Kotsyurbenko, A.N. Nozhevnikova, T.I. Soloviova, G.A. Zavarzin, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 69, 75 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. A. Schramm, L.H. Larsen, N.P. Revsbech, N.B. Ramsing, R. Amann, K.-H. Schleifer, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62, 4641 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  66. D. Wagner, E.-M. Pfeiffer, E. Bock, Soil Biol. Biochem. 31, 999 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. H.W. Scharpenseel, E.M. Pfeiffer, in: R. Lal (Ed.) Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1998, pp. 577.

    Google Scholar 

  68. E.-M. Pfeiffer, H. Janssen, in: J. Kimble, R.J. Ahrens (Eds.) Proceedings of the meeting on the classification, correlation, and management of permafrost-affected soils, Alaska, USA. USDA, Lincoln, 1994, pp. 90.

    Google Scholar 

  69. L.J. Rothschild, D. DesMarais, Adv. Space Sci. 9, 159 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  70. G. Horneck, Planet. Space Sci., 48, 1053 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  71. G. Horneck, Planet. Space Sci. 43, 189 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Dirk Wagner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eva Spieck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eberhard Bock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eva-Maria Pfeiffer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Luft-und Raumfahrtmedizin, Linder Höhe, 51147, Köln, Germany

    Gerda Horneck  & Christa Baumstark-Khan  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wagner, D., Spieck, E., Bock, E., Pfeiffer, EM. (2002). Microbial Life in Terrestrial Permafrost: Methanogenesis and Nitrification in Gelisols as Potentials for Exobiological Process. In: Horneck, G., Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds) Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59381-9_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59381-9_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63957-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59381-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation