One of the toughest environments on Earth is a sulphurous and acidic lake that is considered an analogue to ancient lakes on Mars.
By Chen Ly.
Costa Rica has a volcanic crater with a harsh lake.
The man is Justin Wang.
The volcano in Costa Rica, known as the "Laguna Caliente" crater, has a crater lake with extreme conditions. These organisms give clues to how life may have existed on Mars.
One of the toughest environments on the planet is located at 2300 metres above sea level. It has a pH value of between -0.87 and 1.5. The temperature at the lake can range from 38 to 90 degrees C.
There are similarities between the mineral compositions of the crater on Mars and the one at Laguna Caliente. The acidic and hot lakes that may have existed on Mars in the past would have been suggested by this.
Wang and his team analysed the DNA of the organisms found in samples of lake fluid, clumps of sulphur and sediment.
The researchers found that the samples had a low level of diversity. The majority of the organisms were from Acidiphilium.
The environment was so extreme that we either expected to find nothing or multiple organisms.
The lake's hostile conditions made it difficult for thebacteria to metabolise energy from sulphur. The bioplastics created by thebacteria act as energy stores, and they use them to survive eruptions.
The findings show that life is possible in the extreme environments of ancient crater lakes on Mars.
Sean McMahon at the University of Edinburgh in the UK says that the results hint that the minerals formed under these conditions on Mars might be associated with some remains or traces of life.
The journal is called Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences.
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