Host-Associated Phages Disperse across the Extraterrestrial Analogue Antarctica

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Main Authors: Rahlff, Janina, Bornemann, Till L. V., Lopatina, Anna, Severinov, Konstantin, Probst, Alexander J.
• Other Authors: Buan, Nicole R., Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 2022
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.00315-22; https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/aem.00315-22

Host-associated phages of the bacterium Ralstonia identified in snow samples can be used to track microbial dispersal over thousands of kilometers across the Antarctic continent, which functions as an extraterrestrial analogue because of its harsh environmental conditions. Due to the presence of these bacteria carrying genome-integrated prophages on space-related equipment and the potential for dispersal of host-associated phages demonstrated here, our work has implications for planetary protection, a discipline in astrobiology interested in preventing contamination of celestial bodies with alien biomolecules or forms of life.