The Amazing Journey of<i>Cryomyces antarcticus</i>from Antarctica to Space

Onofri, Silvano; Pacelli, Claudia; Selbmann, Laura; Zucconi, Laura

doi:10.1002/9781119593096.ch11

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It is a cryophilic organism, with a growth optimum below 15 °C, which lives dwelling inside the porous surface of sandstone as refuge against the harsh Antarctica environment. A detailed description of C. antarcticus morphology and adaptation is reported in [ 28 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

Pacelli

Cassaro

Siong

et al. 2021

JoF

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The modern concept of the evolution of Mars assumes that life could potentially have originated on the planet Mars, possibly during the end of the late heavy bombardment, and could then be transferred to other planets. Since then, physical and chemical conditions on Mars changed and now strongly limit the presence of terrestrial-like life forms. These adverse conditions include scarcity of liquid water (although brine solutions may exist), low temperature and atmospheric pressure, and cosmic radiation. Ionizing radiation is very important among these life-constraining factors because it damages DNA and other cellular components, particularly in liquid conditions where radiation-induced reactive oxidants diffuse freely. Here, we investigated the impact of high doses (up to 2 kGy) of densely-ionizing (197.6 keV/µm), space-relevant iron ions (corresponding on the irradiation that reach the uppermost layer of the Mars subsurface) on the survival of an extremophilic terrestrial organism—Cryomyces antarcticus—in liquid medium and under atmospheric conditions, through different techniques. Results showed that it survived in a metabolically active state when subjected to high doses of Fe ions and was able to repair eventual DNA damages. It implies that some terrestrial life forms can withstand prolonged exposure to space-relevant ion radiation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

Pacelli

Cassaro

Siong

et al. 2021

JoF

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“…In addition, samples of C. antarcticus were exposed for over a year on the International Space Station (ISS) to the radiation conditions in low Earth orbit. The samples not only survived, but also maintained a mutational load below 5% and sustained metabolic activity [ 60 ]. The organism’s thick layers of melanin have been implicated as a possible explanation for its survival [ 60 ].…”

Section: Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The samples not only survived, but also maintained a mutational load below 5% and sustained metabolic activity [ 60 ]. The organism’s thick layers of melanin have been implicated as a possible explanation for its survival [ 60 ]. Given melanin’s ability to protect microorganisms from both ionizing and particulate radiation, it may be a favorable material for protection in manned space travel [ 56 ].…”

Section: Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Melanins and Applications in Healthcare, Bioremediation and Industry

Mattoon

Cordero

Casadevall

2021

JoF

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Melanin is a complex multifunctional pigment found in all kingdoms of life, including fungi. The complex chemical structure of fungal melanins, yet to be fully elucidated, lends them multiple unique functions ranging from radioprotection and antioxidant activity to heavy metal chelation and organic compound absorption. Given their many biological functions, fungal melanins present many possibilities as natural compounds that could be exploited for human use. This review summarizes the current discourse and attempts to apply fungal melanin to enhance human health, remove pollutants from ecosystems, and streamline industrial processes. While the potential applications of fungal melanins are often discussed in the scientific community, they are successfully executed less often. Some of the challenges in the applications of fungal melanin to technology include the knowledge gap about their detailed structure, difficulties in isolating melanotic fungi, challenges in extracting melanin from isolated species, and the pathogenicity concerns that accompany working with live melanotic fungi. With proper acknowledgment of these challenges, fungal melanin holds great potential for societal benefit in the coming years.

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“…These studies pushed considerably the general knowledge about their biodiversity, evolution of new and peculiar taxa, and their extraordinary resistance to multiple stresses [5][6][7] . However, the more specific rock environmental conditions promoting microbial life in these challenging environments, and the capacity of different rock traits to support complex microbial assemblies, are still largely unknown.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rock traits drive complex microbial communities at the edge of life

Coleine

Delgado‐Baquerizo

Zerboni

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Antarctic deserts are among the driest and coldest ecosystems of the planet; there, some microbes hang on to life under these extreme conditions inside porous rocks, forming the so-called endolithic communities. Yet, the contribution of distinct rock traits to support complex microbial assemblies remains poorly determined. Here, we combined an extensive Antarctic rock survey with rock microbiome sequencing and ecological networks, and found that contrasting combinations of microclimatic and rock traits such as thermal inertia, porosity, iron concentration and quartz cement can help explain the multiple complex and independent microbial assemblies found in Antarctic rocks. Our work highlights the pivotal role of rocky substrate heterogeneity in sustaining contrasting groups of microorganisms, which is essential to understand life at the edge on Earth, and for searching life on other rocky planets such as Mars.

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The Amazing Journey ofCryomyces antarcticusfrom Antarctica to Space

Cited by 12 publications

References 46 publications

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

Fungal Melanins and Applications in Healthcare, Bioremediation and Industry

Rock traits drive complex microbial communities at the edge of life

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