Life beyond the borders: the resistance of the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus to radiation and space environment
Author(s)
Pacelli, Claudia
Date Issued
June 15, 2017
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
Our understanding of potential life in extraterrestrial environment and its biosignature has mainly focused on studying extreme environments on Earth. Terrestrial extreme environments, indeed, offer a rich source of information allowing us to determine how extreme conditions affect life and molecules associated.
Extremophilic organisms, inhabiting these environments, have adapted to the most stunning conditions on Earth environments; among these, the Antarctic cryptoendolitic black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus, isolated in Antarctica, is one of the most resistant eukaryotic microorganism known to date, survived over 1.5 years real space during the LIFE experiment.
In the frame of different astrobiological projects (BIOMEX and STARLIFE), the fungus was exposed to different kind of stressors, including vacuum, temperature ranges, Martian atmosphere, simulated space conditions and even real space exposure, which included various types of space-relevant radiations, as part of the cosmic radiation environment.
The role of the melanin, a pigment composing the fungal cell wall, in the photo-protection was investigated and demonstrated, by comparing melanized and non-melanized strain of the fungus; melanin as biosignature molecule was analyzed too.
In conclusion, this research demonstrated the strong endurance of the Antarctic cryptoendolitic black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus in simulated and real space conditions contributing to our knowledge on the limits of life on Earth, on the potential survival of this eukaryotic microorganism on other planets and to the identification of biosignatures for searching life beyond Earth.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia e gestione sostenibile delle risorse ambientali
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