Working toward genome-informed habitability of planetary environments

Early Mars was likely habitable for life as we know it due in part to the relative abundance of liquid water. For instance, it is evidenced that Gale crater, a late Noachian to early Hesperian-aged crater (3.5-3.8 Gya), contained a pH-neutral hyposaline lake. We have developed a simple community-based genome-scale model to evaluate the microbial habitability of early Mars constrained by reconstructed water chemistry at Gale crater. Genome-scale models computationally describe microbial metabolisms based on the specific genetic information encoded within said organisms. We will first explore how genome-scale models are produced and then demonstrate how they can be used to predict biomass yields and the production of other metabolites (e.g., biomarkers) in the example of a Gale Lake environment. The results of that model illustrate the plausibility of a sustained community in Gale Lake and establish a method that can be applied to other potentially habitable systems. Finally, we will discuss in-progress improvements to genome-scale modeling, in addition to current laboratory-based collaborative efforts that will further evaluate the current habitability of present-day Mars and Enceladus. 

About this Series: The MIT Planetary Lunch Seminar [PLS] is a weekly seminar series organized within the EAPS department. Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department's planetary sciences research program. The seminars take place on Tuesdays from 12:30–1:30 pm, unless otherwise noted (term-time only). Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors. Talks are intended to appeal to graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. For more information and Zoom password contact: planetary-org@mit.edu.