Destruction of Raman biosignatures by ionising radiation and the implications for life detection on Mars

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
Lewis R DartnellHowell G M Edwards

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a very effective approach for the detection of microorganisms colonising hostile environments on Earth. The ExoMars rover, due for launch in 2018, will carry a Raman laser spectrometer to analyse samples of the martian subsurface collected by the probe's 2-m drill in a search for similar biosignatures. The martian surface is unprotected from the flux of cosmic rays, an ionising radiation field that will degrade organic molecules and so diminish and distort the detectable Raman signature of potential martian microbial life. This study employs Raman spectroscopy to analyse samples of two model organisms, the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the extremely radiation resistant polyextremophile Deinococcus radiodurans, that have been exposed to increasing doses of ionising radiation. The three most prominent peaks in the Raman spectra are from cellular carotenoids: deinoxanthin in D. radiodurans and β-carotene in Synechocystis. The degradative effect of ionising radiation is clearly seen, with significant diminishment of carotenoid spectral peak heights after 15 kGy and complete erasure of Raman biosignatures by 150 kGy of ionising radiation. The Raman signal of carotenoid in D. radiod...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 11, 2014·Astrobiology·Charles S Cockell
Nov 5, 2015·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·Mickael BaquéDaniela Billi
Apr 1, 2014·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Jan JehličkaAharon Oren
Jul 25, 2019·Astrobiology·Marjorie A ChanHenderson James Cleaves
Nov 18, 2014·Applied Optics·David Isidoro Camacho-CórdovaJesús Cervantes-Martínez
Jul 1, 2017·Astrobiology·Jorge L VagoChristophe Carreau
Nov 13, 2020·Astrobiology·Laura RouquettePatrice Coll

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