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Pasta in search of stones may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you discuss potential life on the big red planet, Mars. The occasional water or martian is what you will probably look for when you cross the Martian landscape.
however, University of Illinois geology professor Bruce Fouke has come up with another potential way to look for signs of life on the red planet.
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Nicknamed Sulfurihydrogenibium Yellowstonense, this bacterium controls the formation of delicious fettuccines resembling rocks of ancient origin. Researchers recently reported that this bacterium, which can survive in harsh environments similar to those of Mars, could actually be an easy way to search for life on the planet.
Sulfurihydrogenibium Yellowstonense, or as it is commonly known, Sulfuri is a bacterium belonging to a long lineage that evolved before the oxygenation of the Earth nearly 2.35 billion years ago. Sulfuri has attracted Fouke's attention because of his extreme durability and his talent for surviving in many environments. The bacteria can survive in extremely warm, ultra-violet water.
Sulfuri can even survive in low oxygen regions by using sulfur and carbon dioxide as a source of energy. So where do "pasta" come into play?
The bacterium catalyzes the formation of crystalline rock formations, making them look like pasta. According to Fouke, if these strange pasta-shaped rock formations are on Mars, there is a good chance that this bacteria is alive and well.
"Taken together, these traits make it a prime candidate for the colonization of Mars and other planets, and since it catalyzes the formation of crystalline rock formations resembling pasta layers, it would be relatively easy to detect this form. of life on other planets, "says Fouke
Looking for pasta
During the collection of sulphide cable samples, the researchers literally used sterilized forks to collect samples from the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park to better understand the bacterium's ability to make rocks.
"These Sulfuri cables are strangely similar to fettuccine pasta, while downstream, they look more like pasta of capellini.If we see the deposit of this type of filamentous rock on other planets, we would know that it's a fingerprint of life, "says Fouke.
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