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Review
. 2022 Feb;22(2):225-232.
doi: 10.1089/ast.2021.0066. Epub 2022 Jan 13.

Out of Thin Air? Astrobiology and Atmospheric Chemotrophy

Don A Cowan  1 , Belinda C Ferrari  2 , Christopher P McKay  3
Affiliations
Review

Out of Thin Air? Astrobiology and Atmospheric Chemotrophy

Don A Cowan et al. Astrobiology. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

The emerging understanding of microbial trace gas chemotrophy as a metabolic strategy to support energy and carbon acquisition for microbial survival and growth has significant implications in the search for past, and even extant, life beyond Earth. The use of trace gases, including hydrogen and carbon monoxide as substrates for microbial oxidation, potentially offers a viable strategy with which to support life on planetary bodies that possess a suitable atmospheric composition, such as Mars and Titan. Here, we discuss the current state of knowledge of this process and explore its potential in the field of astrobiological exploration.

Keywords: Astrobiology; Chemotrophy; Mars; Redox couple; Titan; Trace gas.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
A model for the possible role of trace gas chemotrophy in the survival of soil microbiomes on Mars and Titan.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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