title: SOLID2: an antibody array-based life-detector instrument in a Mars Drilling Simulation Experiment (MARTE).
abstract: A field prototype of an antibody array-based life-detector instrument, Signs Of LIfe Detector (SOLID2), has been tested in a Mars drilling mission simulation called MARTE (Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment). As one of the analytical instruments on the MARTE robotic drilling rig, SOLID2 performed automatic sample processing and analysis of ground core samples (0.5 g) with protein microarrays that contained 157 different antibodies. Core samples from different depths (down to 5.5 m) were analyzed, and positive reactions were obtained in antibodies raised against the Gram-negative bacterium Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, a species of the genus Acidithiobacillus (both common microorganisms in the Río Tinto area), and extracts from biofilms and other natural samples from the Río Tinto area. These positive reactions were absent when the samples were previously subjected to a high-temperature treatment, which indicates the biological origin and structural dependency of the antibody-antigen reactions. We conclude that an antibody array-based life-detector instrument like SOLID2 can detect complex biological material, and it should be considered as a potential analytical instrument for future planetary missions that search for life.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain. parrogv@inta.es
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parro
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fernández-Calvo
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Manfredi
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno-Paz
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-Villadangos
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bonaccorsi
authors.forename: José Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: González-Pastor
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prieto-Ballesteros
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Schuerger
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Elvira
authors.forename: Carol R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Stoker
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D000941:Antigens; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000276:immunology; D004247:DNA; D018559:Exobiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005453:Fluorescence; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D007753:Laboratories; D018535:Mars; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018561:Space Simulation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000941:Antigens; D004247:DNA