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Structural Responses of Nucleic Acids to Mars-Relevant Salts at Deep Subsurface Conditions
Jim-Marcel Knop1, Sanjib K Mukherjee1, Stewart Gault2
1Physical Chemistry I-Biophysical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn Street 4a, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 28, 2022
Summary
High pressure and perchlorate salts on Mars do not hinder the stability of DNA. Nucleic acids remain stable under deep subsurface conditions, suggesting potential for life.
Area of Science:
- Astrobiology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Deep subsurface environments on Mars may contain high salt concentrations, like perchlorates.
- The influence of these salts and high hydrostatic pressure on DNA stability is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of high magnesium perchlorate concentrations and high pressure on DNA stability.
- To compare these effects with sodium and magnesium chloride salts.
- To assess the impact on both double-stranded B-DNA and a pressure-sensitive DNA-hairpin structure.
Main Methods:
- Utilized fluorescence spectroscopies.
- Employed single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) methodology.
Main Results:
- DNA stability, including B-DNA and DNA-hairpins, is largely maintained under high pressure and high salt concentrations, including perchlorates.
- Perchlorate anions exhibit a minor destabilizing effect compared to chloride anions.
- High pressures (kbar level) and perchlorates modify nucleic acid stability but do not pose a barrier.
Conclusions:
- High pressure and perchlorate salts do not preclude the gross stability of nucleic acids in Martian deep subsurface conditions.
- These findings suggest that DNA-based life could potentially exist in such environments.
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