ReviewFrontiers in microbiology2017
Glaciers and Ice Sheets As Analog Environments of Potentially Habitable Icy Worlds.
Review in Frontiers in microbiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microbial diversity in Pyrenean ice caves: extreme cryogenic environments as analogues for extraterrestrial habitability.FEMS microbes · 2026Article
- Taxonomy and functional profile of microbial communities across the depths of the Alpine Cenote Abyss ice cave.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Lower viral evolutionary pressure under stable versus fluctuating conditions in subzero Arctic brines.Microbiome · 2023Article
- Bacterial molecular machinery in the Martian cryosphere conditions.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Eurypsychrophilic acidophiles: From (meta)genomes to low-temperature biotechnologies.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Review
- Microbial Communities in Volcanic Glacier Ecosystems.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- The effect of benzo[a]pyrene on the gut microbiota of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2021Article
- Identification of Biomolecules Involved in the Adaptation to the Environment of Cold-Loving Microorganisms and Metabolic Pathways for Their Production.Biomolecules · 2021Review
- Microbial Community Structure Driven by a Volcanic Gradient in Glaciers of the Antarctic Archipelago South Shetland.Microorganisms · 2021Article
- Lithogenic hydrogen supports microbial primary production in subglacial and proglacial environments.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- On Topological Analysis of fs-LIMS Data. Implications for in Situ Planetary Mass Spectrometry.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2021Article
- SubsurfaceAstrobiology · 2020Article
- Synergy effect of peroxidase enzymes and Fenton reactions greatly increase the anaerobic oxidation of soil organic matter.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Experimental and Simulation Efforts in the Astrobiological Exploration of Exooceans.Space science reviews · 2020Review
- Survivability of Anhydrobiotic Cyanobacteria in Salty Ice: Implications for the Habitability of Icy Worlds.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Taxonomic and functional characterization of a microbial community from a volcanic englacial ecosystem in Deception Island, Antarctica.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Microbial ecology of the cryosphere (glacial and permafrost habitats): current knowledge.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2019Review
- Reconstruction of the Functional Ecosystem in the High Light, Low Temperature Union Glacier Region, Antarctica.Frontiers in microbiology · 2019Article
- Fungi in perennial ice from Scărișoara Ice Cave (Romania).Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Low Energy Subsurface Environments as Extraterrestrial Analogs.Frontiers in microbiology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Icy worlds in the solar system and beyond have attracted a remarkable attention as possible habitats for life. The current consideration about whether life exists beyond Earth is based on our knowledge of life in terrestrial cold environments. On Earth, glaciers and ice sheets have been considered uninhabited for a long time as they seemed too hostile to harbor life. However, these environments are unique biomes dominated by microbial communities which maintain active biochemical routes. Thanks to techniques such as microscopy and more recently DNA sequencing methods, a great biodiversity of prokaryote and eukaryote microorganisms have been discovered. These microorganisms are adapted to a harsh environment, in which the most extreme features are the lack of liquid water, extremely cold temperatures, high solar radiation and nutrient shortage. Here we compare the environmental characteristics of icy worlds, and the environmental characteristics of terrestrial glaciers and ice sheets in order to address some interesting questions: (i) which are the characteristics of habitability known for the frozen worlds, and which could be compatible with life, (ii) what are the environmental characteristics of terrestrial glaciers and ice sheets that can be life-limiting, (iii) What are the microbial communities of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms that can live in them, and (iv) taking into account these observations, could any of these planets or satellites meet the conditions of habitability? In this review, the icy worlds are considered from the point of view of astrobiological exploration. With the aim of determining whether icy worlds could be potentially habitable, they have been compared with the environmental features of glaciers and ice sheets on Earth. We also reviewed some field and laboratory investigations about microorganisms that live in analog environments of icy worlds, where they are not only viable but also metabolically active.
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