ArticleAstrobiology2017
Nucleic Acid Extraction from Synthetic Mars Analog Soils for in situ Life Detection.
Article in Astrobiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mars sample return campaign: biological risk and a proposed sample safety assessment protocol.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Exploring Life Detection on Mars: Understanding Challenges in DNA Amplification in Martian Regolith Analogue After Fe Ion Irradiation.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A multiple biomolecules-based rapid life detection protocol embedded in a rover scientific subsystem for soil sample analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A Comparison of Different Protocols for the Extraction of Microbial DNA Inhabiting Synthetic Mars Simulant Soil.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Investigation of fungal biomolecules after Low Earth Orbit exposure: a testbed for the next Moon missions.Environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus.Astrobiology · 2022Article
- Metabolomics as an Emerging Tool in the Search for Astrobiologically Relevant Biomarkers.Astrobiology · 2020Review
- Deciphering Biosignatures in Planetary Contexts.Astrobiology · 2019Article
- Nucleic Acid Extraction and Sequencing from Low-Biomass Synthetic Mars Analog Soils forAstrobiology · 2019Article
- Radiation Tolerance of Nanopore Sequencing Technology for Life Detection on Mars and Europa.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- CarrierSeq: a sequence analysis workflow for low-input nanopore sequencing.BMC bioinformatics · 2018Article
- Is Searching for Martian Life a Priority for the Mars Community?Astrobiology · 2018Article
- Experimental studies addressing the longevity of Bacillus subtilis spores - The first data from a 500-year experiment.PloS one · 2018Article
- Cryptoendolithic Antarctic Black FungusFrontiers in microbiology · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in situ life-detection instrument that integrates nucleic acid extraction and nanopore sequencing: the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG) instrument. Our goal is to isolate and determine the sequence of nucleic acids from extant or preserved life on Mars, if, for example, there is common ancestry to life on Mars and Earth. As is true of metagenomic analysis of terrestrial environmental samples, the SETG instrument must isolate nucleic acids from crude samples and then determine the DNA sequence of the unknown nucleic acids. Our initial DNA extraction experiments resulted in low to undetectable amounts of DNA due to soil chemistry-dependent soil-DNA interactions, namely adsorption to mineral surfaces, binding to divalent/trivalent cations, destruction by iron redox cycling, and acidic conditions. Subsequently, we developed soil-specific extraction protocols that increase DNA yields through a combination of desalting, utilization of competitive binders, and promotion of anaerobic conditions. Our results suggest that a combination of desalting and utilizing competitive binders may establish a "universal" nucleic acid extraction protocol suitable for analyzing samples from diverse soils on Mars. Key Words: Life-detection instruments-Nucleic acids-Mars-Panspermia. Astrobiology 17, 747-760.
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Registered trials
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