Haloferax volcanii exposed to perchlorate

Perchlorate salts were found in the surface of Mars at very high concentration. Perchlorate has a major astrobiological interest at present, due to it would promote the formation of liquid salt brines on the Martian surface thanks to its physicochemical properties. It is known that extreme halophilic microorganisms are very tolerant to perchlorate. For understand the molecular mechanisms for perchlorate tolerance, Haloferax volcanii DS70 strain was exposed to a sub-lethal concentration of sodium perchlorate, and its transcriptomic response was evaluated. It was also performed a control experiment exposing Haloferax volcanii to sodium chloride at the same concentration of sodium perchlorate, to be able to identify the effects of perchlorate anion or the increase in salinity due to the addition of a perchlorate salt.