Tectonic Influences on High Temperature Biosphere Habitability

Hydrothermal systems integrate geologic processes at a planet's surface with those from the deep subsurface, yielding hot springs with an incredible array of geochemical compositions. Studies of extremophiles inhabiting such environments have framed our understanding of the habitability and origin of life on Earth and the potential for life on other planetary bodies. In particular, hydrothermal systems, such as those in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, USA, have been the focal point of many astrobiological studies. The considerable geochemical variation in YNP hot spring fluids is controlled by several subsurface geological processes including water-rock interactions that occur within predominantly rhyolite-hosted hydrothermal settings. However, rhyolitic volcanic systems were unlikely to be widespread on early Earth when life is hypothesized to have originated. Rather, early Earth was likely dominated by basaltic type volcanism similar to what occurs today in modern-day Iceland. Preliminary evidence described herein suggests that rhyolitic (e.g., YNP) and basaltic (e.g., Iceland) hydrothermal systems host waters that are geochemically distinct, which is likely due to their differing tectonic and geologic settings. Unlike our understanding of YNP high-temperature environments, very little is known of how geochemical variation affects thermophilic communities within Icelandic springs. Moreover, nothing is known regarding the effects of differing geochemistry on the taxonomic and functional composition, activities, and evolution of microorganisms inhabiting basaltic versus rhyolitic hydrothermal systems. These are significant knowledge gaps considering that basaltic environments that can support chemosynthetic life (i.e., removed from photosynthetic processes) are likely to be key analogs informing our understanding of i) processes that supported early life on Earth and ii) the character of subsurface life on other volcanically active planetary bodies (e.g., Europa, Enceladus and Mars). Here, we propose an integrated suite of studies aimed at determining how variation in the geochemistry of hydrothermal systems in Iceland and YNP: 1) are consequences of tectonic setting and the associated subsurface geological processes; 2) shape microbial diversity and their activity; and 3) promote different evolutionary trajectories of microbial inhabitants. To address these interrelated goals, we will conduct a longitudinal sampling campaign that includes a wide variety of geochemically distinct springs in both Iceland and YNP. We will develop geochemical models to identify the influences of host-rock type (due to differences in tectonics) on the geochemical variation among the springs. We will then use these data to develop new understanding of the controls on the composition of microbial communities, their functions, and their activities, among the two systems. Lastly, we will reconstruct evolutionary histories of microbial populations from metagenomic data to test the hypothesis that Icelandic hydrothermal environments host microbial lineages and functional enzyme homologues that are more early evolving. Our results will also provide critical new insight on the extent, nature, and evolution of high-temperature, globally distributed, chemosynthetic biospheres. This work will leverage the unique expertise of four early career scientists in geochemistry, thermodynamic modeling, molecular microbial ecology, bioinformatics, and evolutionary theory. As such, the proposed work will provide training opportunities for two graduate students at the intersection of these exciting disciplines, forge collaborations across Montana institutions (MSU-Bozeman and Montana Tech), and promote the EPSCoR goal of developing NASA research capacity within Montana.

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