Motility is widely distributed across the tree of life and can be recognized by microscopy regardless of phylogenetic affiliation, biochemical composition, or mechanism. Microscopy has thus been proposed as a potential tool for detection of biosignatures for extraterrestrial life; however, traditional light microscopy is poorly suited for this purpose, as it requires sample preparation, involves fragile moving parts, and has a limited volume of view. In this study, we deployed a field-portable digital holographic microscope (DHM) to explore microbial motility in Badwater Spring, a saline spring in Death Valley National Park, and complemented DHM imaging with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomics. The DHM identified diverse morphologies and distinguished run-reverse-flick and run-reverse types of flagellar motility. PICRUSt2- and literature-based predictions based on 16S rRNA gene amplicons were used to predict motility genotypes/phenotypes for 36.0-60.1% of identified taxa, with the predicted motile taxa being dominated by members of Burkholderiaceae and Spirochaetota. A shotgun metagenome confirmed the abundance of genes encoding flagellar motility, and a Ralstonia metagenome-assembled genome encoded a full flagellar gene cluster. This study demonstrates the potential of DHM for planetary life detection, presents the first microbial census of Badwater Spring and brine pool, and confirms the abundance of mobile microbial taxa in an extreme environment.
Keywords: Digital holographic microscope; Extant life detection; Flagella; Metagenomics; Microscopy; Motility.