Setting a polyphasic approach to study Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities as a toolkit for astrobiology
Author(s)
Date Issued
2026
Type
article
Volume
25
ISSN
1473-5504
1475-3006
Abstract
The present study has set up a pilot experiment to optimise the most promising assays for investigating the survival
of Antarctic microbial cryptoendolithic communities – a natural astrobiological benchmark – when subjected to
lethal/sub-lethal stresses testing viability, cell integrity and metabolic activity. Namely, the viability tests for
culturable species are based on cultivation on a solid medium, while qPCR coupled to propidium monoazide (PMA)
provides information of both culturable and non-culturable microorganisms. The fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and
Adenosine 5’-TriPhosphate (ATP) assays, here optimised, consent to highlight the presence of metabolically active
cells. The results revealed significant differences between the treated and untreated samples, proving the suitability
of the selected tests for investigating the resilience of these astrobiological models.
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