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Comparative Results of Using Different Methods for Discovery of Microorganisms in very Ancient Layers of the Central Antarctic Glacier above the Lake VostokThe ice sheet of the Central Antarctic is considered by the scientific community worldwide, as a model to elaborate on different methods to search for life outside Earth. This became especially significant in connection with the discovery of the underglacial lake in the vicinity of the Russian Antarctic Station Vostok. Lake Vostok is considered by many scientists as an analog of the ice covered seas of Jupiter's satellite Europa. According to the opinion of many researchers there is the possibility that relict forms of microorganisms, well preserved since the Ice Age, may be present in this lake. Investigations throughout the thickness of the ice sheet above Lake Vostok show the presence of microorganisms belonging to different well-known taxonomic groups, even in the very ancient horizons near close to floor of the glacier. Different methods were used to search for microorganisms that are rarely found in the deep ancient layers of an ice sheet. The method of aseptic sampling from the ice cores and the results of controlled sterile conditions in all stages when conducting these investigations, are described in detail in previous reports. Primary investigations tried the usual methods of sowing samples onto different nutrient media, and the result was that only a few microorganisms grew on the media used. The possibility of isolating the organisms obtained for further investigations, by using modern methods including DNA-analysis, appears to be the preferred method. Further investigations of the very ancient layers of the ice sheet by radioisotopic, luminescence, and scanning electron microscopy methods at different modifications, revealed the quantity and morphological diversity of the cells of microorganisms that were distributed on the different horizons. Investigations over many years have shown that the microflora in the very ancient strata of the Antarctic ice cover, nearest to the bedrock, support the effectiveness of using a combination of different methods to search for signs of life in ancient icy formations, which might play a role in the long-term preservation and transportation of microbial life throughout the Universe.
Document ID
20030111770
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Abyzov, S. S.
(Academy of Sciences (USSR) Moscow, USSR)
Hoover, R. B.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Imura, S.
(National Inst. of Polar Research Tokyo, Japan)
Mitskevich, I. N.
(Academy of Sciences (USSR) Moscow, USSR)
Naganuma, T.
(Hiroshima Univ. Japan)
Poglazova, M. N.
(Academy of Sciences (USSR) Moscow, USSR)
Ivanov, M. V.
(Academy of Sciences (USSR) Moscow, USSR)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Exobiology
Meeting Information
Meeting: 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, the Second World Space Congress Committee on Space Research
Location: Houston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: October 10, 2002
End Date: October 19, 2002
Sponsors: Committee on Space Research
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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