DeBenedictis, E.A., Kite, E.S., Wordsworth, R.D., Lanza, N.L., Cockell, C.S., Silver, P.S., Ramirez, R.M., Cumbers, J., Mohseni, H., Mason, C.E., Fischer, W.W., & McKay, C.P., The case for Mars terraforming research. Nature Astronomy (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02548-0

Mars has a chlorine problem, organic compounds depend on carbon chemistry, and are limited by oxidative process.

you need to workaround the apparently planetary perchlorate cycle.

Geophysical Research Letters: The origins of perchlorate in the Martian soil.[2017]

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/201...

A Synthetic Biology Architecture to Detoxify and Enrich Mars Soil for Agriculture[2017]

https://www.nasa.gov/general/a-synthetic-biology-architectur...