JOURNAL CLUB

2020

V A L E S K A M O L I N A
 INTRODUCTION

VENUS

SECOND PLANET OF SOLAR SYSTEM

SIMILAR TO EARTH IN MASS, DENSITY, SIZE, GRAVITY AND

COMPOSITIONS

HOTTEST PLANET -> DENSE ATMOSPHERE -> 450 - 471 °C

THE ATMOSPHERE CONSISTING MAINLY OF CARBON DIOXIDE WITH

CLOUDS OF SULFURIC ACID, AND ONLY TRACE AMOUNTS OF WATER

HEAVIER ATMOSPHERE -> MORE 90 TIMES THAT OF EARTH

THOUSANDS OF VOLCANOES, SOME OF WHICH ARE STILL ACTIVE

TODAY

WINDS UP TO 100 M/S

 HOW LIFE COULD SURVIVOR ON VENUS?

ONLY VENU'S ATMOSPHERIC CLOUD LAYERS...

IN TWO POSSIBLE SCENARIO:

1. LIFE COULD ARISE IN THE CLOUDS INDEPENDENT FROM

THE GROUND

2. LIFE ORIGINATED ON THE SURFACE

SO... DOES MICROSCOPIC LIFE RESIDE INSIDE CLOUD LIQUID

DROPLETS?

OR

IS MICROSCOPIC LIFE FREE FLOATING IN THE AIR BETWEEN CLOUD

DROPLETS?
ON EARTH

MAJOR METABOLIC PROCESSES

FOR LIFE RESIDING IN EARTH
CLOUD LIQUID WATER DROPLETS

Those include protection against

oxidants, osmotic pressure variations,
the synthesis of cryoprotectants to
fight extreme cold, or production of
metal ion scavengers and
biosurfactants
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR LIFE IN
THE VENUSIAN CLOUDS

WHY MICROBIAL LIFE "OUTSIDE THE

DROPLETS" IS IMPLAUSIBLE

Liquid environment

I m a g e c r e d i t : J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i t y A p p l i e d P h y s i c s L a b o r a t o r y .
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR LIFE IN
THE VENUSIAN CLOUDS

THE HIGH CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID

ENVIRONMENT

The Venusian cloud droplets are sulfuric acid with

water dissolved in them

The hydrophobic particle cannot efficiently act as

cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) I m a g e c r e d i t : J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i t y A p p l i e d P h y s i c s L a b o r a t o r y .
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR LIFE IN
THE VENUSIAN CLOUDS

A c i d i t h i o b a c i l l u s f e r r o o x i d a n s
NUTRIENT SCARCITY

L i f e o n E a r t h c a n i n h a b i t e n v i r o n m e n t s
w h e r e n u t r i e n t s a r e e x t r e m e l y s c a r c e . A
r e c e n t e x a m p l e i s t h e d i s c o v e r y o f
m i c r o b i a l e c o l o g i e s i n t h e l o w e r o c e a n i c
c r u s t . I n s u c h a n u t r i e n t - s c a r c e
e n v i r o n m e n t , t h e k e y t o l i f e ’ s s u r v i v a l
i n c l u d e s : s t o r a g e o f m a t e r i a l s a s a s o u r c e
o f e l e m e n t s i n a n e v e n t o f e x t r e m e
s h o r t a g e s ; r e c y c l i n g a n d r e u s i n g o f a l r e a d y
a c q u i r e d n u t r i e n t s ; a n d m e t a b o l i c
f l e x i b i l i t y ( i . e . , t h e a b i l i t y t o u t i l i z e
m u l t i p l e s o u r c e s o f c a r b o n , n i t r o g e n ,
e n e r g y , e t c . ) .
 ASSUMPTIONS FOR LIFE IN
THE VENUSIAN CLOUDS

ASSUMPTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Assume that Venusian aerial microbial life is photosynthetic

it has been speculated that the "unknown UV absorber" in the
clouds of Venus
Anoxygenic photosynthesis

E N E R G Y F R O M O N T H E O R D E R O F S E C O N D S T O
M I N U T E S O F
I L L U M I N A T I O N F O R A M I C R O B E 1 M M I N R A D I U S
W O U L D B E S U F F I C I E N T
F O R L I F E T O E X T R A C T S U F F I C I E N T W A T E R F R O M I T S
S U L F U R I C A C I D
E N V I R O N M E N T T O F I L L T H E O R G A N I S M .
A PROPOSED CYCLE FOR VENUSIAN
AERIAL MICROBIAL LIFE

BEGINS IN THE LOWER HAZE LAYER -> CCN

A PROPOSED CYCLE FOR VENUSIAN
AERIAL MICROBIAL LIFE

Relatively low mass and unknown

composition
Altitude of 47.5 km down to 33 km
Range temperature 350 - 460 K
Pressure around 10 bars

Is known the Particle size and number

density: 0.25 to 0.5 um (up to 2 um)
 DISCUSSION

E a r t h ’ s m i c r o o r g a n i s m s a r e u s i n g t h e c l o u d s t o m i g r a t e t o n e w h a b i t a t s , n o t t o
s t a y i n t h e c l o u d s a n d r e p r o d u c e .

T h a t t h e e n t i r e l i f e c y c l e o f V e n u s i a n l i f e , i n c l u d i n g g e n e t i c m a t e r i a l
r e p l i c a t i o n a n d c e l l d i v i s i o n , m u s t o c c u r i n t h e o n l y t e m p e r a t e r e g i o n o f V e n u s
— t h e c l o u d s .

T h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f c e l l s i n t h e V e n u s i a n a e r i a l b i o s p h e r e c o u l d b e 1 0 t i m e s o r
g r e a t e r t h a n t h e n u m b e r i n t h e l o w e r h a z e
 SUMMARY
The dried out spores would reside there until some
of them can be transported back up to the
temperate, habitable cloud layers, where they would
act as CCN to promote cloud formation, becoming
enveloped in cloud droplets to continue the life
cycle
THANKS!!