Prospects for metazoan life in sub-glacial Antarctic lakes: the most extreme life on Earth?

Thatje, Sven; Brown, Alastair; Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0240-7317. 2019 Prospects for metazoan life in sub-glacial Antarctic lakes: the most extreme life on Earth? International Journal of Astrobiology, 18 (5). 416-419. 10.1017/S1473550418000356

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Text This article has been published in a revised form in International Journal of Astrobiology [http://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550418000356]. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use. © copyright holder. Thatje_et_al_Int_J_Astrobiol.doc - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 4.0. Download (1MB)

Abstract/Summary

About 400 subglacial lakes are known from Antarctica. The question of whether life unique of subglacial lakes exists has been paramount since their discovery. Despite frequent evidence of microbial life mostly from accretion ice, subglacial lakes are characterized by physiologically hostile conditions to metazoan life, as we know it. Pure water (salinity ≤0.4–1.2%), extreme cold (−3°C), high hydrostatic pressure, areas of limited or no oxygen availability and permanent darkness altogether require physiological adaptations to these harsh conditions. The record of gene sequences including some associated with hydrothermal vents does foster the idea of metazoan life in Lake Vostok. Here, we synthesize the physico-chemical environment surrounding sub-glacial lakes and potential sites of hydrothermal activity and advocate that the physico-chemical stability found at these sites may be the most likely sites for metazoan life to exist. The unique conditions presented by Lake Vostok may also offer an outlook on life to be expected in extra-terrestrial subglacial environments, such as on Jupiter's moon Europa or Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1017/S1473550418000356
ISSN:	1473-5504
Additional Keywords:	hydrostatic pressure, hydrothermal vent, Lake Vostok, microbiology, metazoan, physiology, sub-glacial life
Date made live:	30 Jan 2019 09:05 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/522105

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