A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.

Sea ice is an analog environment for several of astrobiology's near-term targets: Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and perhaps other Jovian or Saturnian moons. Microorganisms, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, remain active within brine channels inside the ice, making it unnecessary to penetrate through...

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Main Authors: Christian A Lindensmith, Stephanie Rider, Manuel Bedrossian, J Kent Wallace, Eugene Serabyn, G Max Showalter, Jody W Deming, Jay L Nadeau
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4728210?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-08032804e4ba41d09c33fdcba4c8dc702020-11-25T01:23:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01111e014770010.1371/journal.pone.0147700A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.Christian A LindensmithStephanie RiderManuel BedrossianJ Kent WallaceEugene SerabynG Max ShowalterJody W DemingJay L NadeauSea ice is an analog environment for several of astrobiology's near-term targets: Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and perhaps other Jovian or Saturnian moons. Microorganisms, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, remain active within brine channels inside the ice, making it unnecessary to penetrate through to liquid water below in order to detect life. We have developed a submersible digital holographic microscope (DHM) that is capable of resolving individual bacterial cells, and demonstrated its utility for immediately imaging samples taken directly from sea ice at several locations near Nuuk, Greenland. In all samples, the appearance and motility of eukaryotes were conclusive signs of life. The appearance of prokaryotic cells alone was not sufficient to confirm life, but when prokaryotic motility occurred, it was rapid and conclusive. Warming the samples to above-freezing temperatures or supplementing with serine increased the number of motile cells and the speed of motility; supplementing with serine also stimulated chemotaxis. These results show that DHM is a useful technique for detection of active organisms in extreme environments, and that motility may be used as a biosignature in the liquid brines that persist in ice. These findings have important implications for the design of missions to icy environments and suggest ways in which DHM imaging may be integrated with chemical life-detection suites in order to create more conclusive life detection packages.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4728210?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Christian A Lindensmith
Stephanie Rider
Manuel Bedrossian
J Kent Wallace
Eugene Serabyn
G Max Showalter
Jody W Deming
Jay L Nadeau
spellingShingle Christian A Lindensmith
Stephanie Rider
Manuel Bedrossian
J Kent Wallace
Eugene Serabyn
G Max Showalter
Jody W Deming
Jay L Nadeau
A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Christian A Lindensmith
Stephanie Rider
Manuel Bedrossian
J Kent Wallace
Eugene Serabyn
G Max Showalter
Jody W Deming
Jay L Nadeau
author_sort Christian A Lindensmith
title A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
title_short A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
title_full A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
title_fullStr A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
title_full_unstemmed A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments.
title_sort submersible, off-axis holographic microscope for detection of microbial motility and morphology in aqueous and icy environments.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2016-01-01
description Sea ice is an analog environment for several of astrobiology's near-term targets: Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and perhaps other Jovian or Saturnian moons. Microorganisms, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, remain active within brine channels inside the ice, making it unnecessary to penetrate through to liquid water below in order to detect life. We have developed a submersible digital holographic microscope (DHM) that is capable of resolving individual bacterial cells, and demonstrated its utility for immediately imaging samples taken directly from sea ice at several locations near Nuuk, Greenland. In all samples, the appearance and motility of eukaryotes were conclusive signs of life. The appearance of prokaryotic cells alone was not sufficient to confirm life, but when prokaryotic motility occurred, it was rapid and conclusive. Warming the samples to above-freezing temperatures or supplementing with serine increased the number of motile cells and the speed of motility; supplementing with serine also stimulated chemotaxis. These results show that DHM is a useful technique for detection of active organisms in extreme environments, and that motility may be used as a biosignature in the liquid brines that persist in ice. These findings have important implications for the design of missions to icy environments and suggest ways in which DHM imaging may be integrated with chemical life-detection suites in order to create more conclusive life detection packages.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4728210?pdf=render
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