Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection
Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in situ life-detection instrument that integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrest...
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Mary Ann Liebert Inc
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118363 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4547-4747 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2652-8017 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7946-5622 |
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| author | Mojarro, Angel Zuber, Maria Carr, Christopher E |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Mojarro, Angel Zuber, Maria Carr, Christopher E |
| author_sort | Mojarro, Angel |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in situ life-detection instrument that integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG) instrument. Our goal is to isolate and determine the sequence of nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars, if, for example, there is common ancestry to life on Mars and Earth. As is true of metagenomic analysis of terrestrial environmental samples, the SETG instrument must isolate nucleic acids from crude samples and then determine the DNA sequence of the unknown nucleic acids. Our initial DNA extraction experiments resulted in low to undetectable amounts of DNA due to soil chemistry-dependent soil-DNA interactions, namely adsorption to mineral surfaces, binding to divalent/trivalent cations, destruction by iron redox cycling, and acidic conditions. Subsequently, we developed soil-specific extraction protocols that increase DNA yields through a combination of desalting, utilization of competitive binders, and promotion of anaerobic conditions. Our results suggest that a combination of desalting and utilizing competitive binders may establish a "universal" nucleic acid extraction protocol suitable for analyzing samples from diverse soils on Mars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:56:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/118363 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:56:34Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Mary Ann Liebert Inc |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1183632024-07-19T19:54:40Z Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection Mojarro, Angel Zuber, Maria Carr, Christopher E Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Mojarro, Angel Zuber, Maria Carr, Christopher E Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in situ life-detection instrument that integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG) instrument. Our goal is to isolate and determine the sequence of nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars, if, for example, there is common ancestry to life on Mars and Earth. As is true of metagenomic analysis of terrestrial environmental samples, the SETG instrument must isolate nucleic acids from crude samples and then determine the DNA sequence of the unknown nucleic acids. Our initial DNA extraction experiments resulted in low to undetectable amounts of DNA due to soil chemistry-dependent soil-DNA interactions, namely adsorption to mineral surfaces, binding to divalent/trivalent cations, destruction by iron redox cycling, and acidic conditions. Subsequently, we developed soil-specific extraction protocols that increase DNA yields through a combination of desalting, utilization of competitive binders, and promotion of anaerobic conditions. Our results suggest that a combination of desalting and utilizing competitive binders may establish a "universal" nucleic acid extraction protocol suitable for analyzing samples from diverse soils on Mars. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX15AF85G) 2018-10-04T19:15:07Z 2018-10-04T19:15:07Z 2017-08 2018-09-25T16:49:01Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1531-1074 1557-8070 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118363 Mojarro, Angel et al. “Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection.” Astrobiology 17, 8 (August 2017): 747–760 © 2017 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4547-4747 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2652-8017 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7946-5622 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/AST.2016.1535 Astrobiology Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Mary Ann Liebert Inc Mary Ann Liebert |
| spellingShingle | Mojarro, Angel Zuber, Maria Carr, Christopher E Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title | Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title_full | Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title_fullStr | Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title_short | Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in Situ Life Detection |
| title_sort | nucleic acid extraction from synthetic mars analog soils for in situ life detection |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/118363 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4547-4747 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2652-8017 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7946-5622 |
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