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Bacteria in amber coal and clay in relation to lithopanspermia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2009

Milton Wainwright ,
Amar Laswd  and
Fawaz Alshammari
Milton Wainwright
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, SheffieldS10 2TN, UK
Amar Laswd
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, SheffieldS10 2TN, UK
Fawaz Alshammari
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, SheffieldS10 2TN, UK
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Abstract

A study was undertaken to determine if amber, coal and clay samples contain bacteria, in relation to the possibility that rocks ejected from Earth might contain microorganisms capable of colonizing other planets. A technique for isolating bacteria from rocks was developed which excluded the possibility that any of the rock isolates resulted from contamination. Two species of Bacillus were found in the amber sample, and a species of the same genus was found in coal; bacilli were also commonly found in clay. It is concluded that species of the spore-forming genus Bacillus could therefore be ejected from Earth in these geological substrates and possibly be transferred elsewhere.

Keywords

bacteria in rockspanspermiasurvival of bacteria
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 141 - 143
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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