The CRYPTOMARS project: a multi-omic approach for studying Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities as Martian-analog life-forms

作者：Laura Selbmann, Carmen Del Franco, Gerardo A. Stoppiello, Caterina Ripa, Ricardo Belmonte-Lopes, Claudio Donati, Pietro Franceschi, Mar Garcia‐Aloy, Alessia Cemmi, Ilaria Di Sarcina, G. Bazzano, C. Ronsivalle, Paolo Nenzi, D. Murra, S. Bollanti, Maria Aurora Vincenti, M. Piccinini, Mickaël Baqué, Maria Pedone, Serena Pezzilli · 发表于：International Journal of Astrobiology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1017/s1473550425100104 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Polar Research and Ecology、Planetary Science and Exploration、Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology

Abstract If life ever existed on Mars, it may have developed survival strategies similar to those adopted by extremophiles living in terrestrial Martian analogs, such as the cryptoendolithic communities found in the rocky substrates of the McMurdo Dry Valleys or other ice-free areas of continental Antarctica. Nearly thirty years of research on these super-adapted organisms laid the foundation for the CRYPTOMARS project, which aims to disclose the genomic and phenotypic features allowing these microbial communities to withstand specific physico-chemical stresses that may be encountered on the Red Planet. This information will provide tools to outline, in terms of diversity and competences, a putative microbial community able to survive, adapt or even perpetuate under early or present Martian conditions. The project and the background information are here presented.