Survival strategies of an anoxic microbial ecosystem in Lake Untersee, a potential analog for Enceladus

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 7376
• Main Authors: Wagner, Nicole Yasmin, Andersen, Dale T., Hahn, Aria S., Johnson, Sarah Stewart
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.05.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158/2445; 639/33/445/3929; 704/286; Aquatic ecosystems; Community composition; Ecosystem; Humanities and Social Sciences; Lakes; Metabolism; Metagenomics; Methane; Methanogenesis; Microbial activity; multidisciplinary; Saturn; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Space flight; Sulfur; Water
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10876-8

Lake Untersee located in Eastern Antarctica, is a perennially ice-covered lake. At the bottom of its southern basin lies 20 m of anoxic, methane rich, stratified water, making it a good analog for Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. Here we present the first metagenomic study of this basin and detail the community composition and functional potential of the microbial communities at 92 m, 99 m depths and within the anoxic sediment. A diverse and well-populated microbial community was found, presenting the potential for Enceladus to have a diverse and abundant community. We also explored methanogenesis, sulfur metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism, given the potential presence of these compounds on Enceladus. We found an abundance of these pathways offering a variety of metabolic strategies. Additionally, the extreme conditions of the anoxic basin make it optimal for testing spaceflight technology and life detection methods for future Enceladus exploration.