Location
The Leonardo Event Center
Start Date
5-12-2015 2:30 PM
Description
Biological material surviving in modern halite may point to potential life in salt deposits on Mars. This project attempts to find an efficient method extracting cells and DNA from modern halite crystals to gain more insight into efficient method of extracting DNA from ancient salt, considering potential Mars Rover techniques. Microorganisms were cultivated from Great Salt Lake halite and identified by 16S rRNA gene comparisons. We will present data on the diversity of archaea isolated by this method. We made attempts at isolating DNA with various combinations of centrifugation columns and filters to extract and clean any DNA that may be trapped inside the halite fluid inclusions, using gel electrophoresis to analyze the purity and concentration of DNA. We noted inefficient yields in recovery of DNA, which must be improved upon before we apply the methods to ancient halite.
Exploration of Life in Halite
The Leonardo Event Center
Biological material surviving in modern halite may point to potential life in salt deposits on Mars. This project attempts to find an efficient method extracting cells and DNA from modern halite crystals to gain more insight into efficient method of extracting DNA from ancient salt, considering potential Mars Rover techniques. Microorganisms were cultivated from Great Salt Lake halite and identified by 16S rRNA gene comparisons. We will present data on the diversity of archaea isolated by this method. We made attempts at isolating DNA with various combinations of centrifugation columns and filters to extract and clean any DNA that may be trapped inside the halite fluid inclusions, using gel electrophoresis to analyze the purity and concentration of DNA. We noted inefficient yields in recovery of DNA, which must be improved upon before we apply the methods to ancient halite.