Bonnie K. Baxter (Westminster College)
Faculty Advisor: Baxter, Bonnie (Westminster College, Biology)
Gypsum is a calcium sulfate mineral in a hydrated form. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, found veins of gypsum deposited by water in 2011(Figure 7), and gypsum has been detected on Mars as early as 2005 by the ESA's Mars Express Orbiter. On Earth, gypsum is formed in hypersaline environments, in minerals left behind when water evaporates and it can trap microorganisms in fluid inclusions. Gypsum obtained from Great Salt Lake was used to develop a method to extract halophilic archaea and culture it in the lab. Our studies show that the mineral was difficult to dissolve in aqueous microbiological media. We tested various methods of dissolution involving mechanical crushing and tested solvents including microbiological media. We also employed a variety of cultivation methods. We will present data on best practices for obtaining halophilic microorganisms from gypsum samples. The method obtained could be used to isolate potential microorganisms present in gypsum samples from Mars.