Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues

Among the celestial bodies in the Solar System, Mars currently represents the main target for the search for life beyond Earth. However, its surface is constantly exposed to high doses of cosmic rays (CRs) that may pose a threat to any biological system. For this reason, investigations into the limi...

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Published in:Life
Main Authors: Lorenzo Aureli, Claudia Pacelli, Alessia Cassaro, Akira Fujimori, Ralf Moeller, Silvano Onofri
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306
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spelling ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2075-1729/10/12/306/ 2023-08-20T04:00:34+02:00 Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues Lorenzo Aureli Claudia Pacelli Alessia Cassaro Akira Fujimori Ralf Moeller Silvano Onofri agris 2020-11-24 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life10120306 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Life; Volume 10; Issue 12; Pages: 306 cosmic rays accelerated iron ions Mars fungi life on Mars Text 2020 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306 2023-08-01T00:31:08Z Among the celestial bodies in the Solar System, Mars currently represents the main target for the search for life beyond Earth. However, its surface is constantly exposed to high doses of cosmic rays (CRs) that may pose a threat to any biological system. For this reason, investigations into the limits of resistance of life to space relevant radiation is fundamental to speculate on the chance of finding extraterrestrial organisms on Mars. In the present work, as part of the STARLIFE project, the responses of dried colonies of the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus Culture Collection of Fungi from Extreme Environments (CCFEE) 515 to the exposure to accelerated iron (LET: 200 keV/μm) ions, which mimic part of CRs spectrum, were investigated. Samples were exposed to the iron ions up to 1000 Gy in the presence of Martian regolith analogues. Our results showed an extraordinary resistance of the fungus in terms of survival, recovery of metabolic activity and DNA integrity. These experiments give new insights into the survival probability of possible terrestrial-like life forms on the present or past Martian surface and shallow subsurface environments. Text Antarc* antarcticus MDPI Open Access Publishing Life 10 12 306
institution Open Polar
collection MDPI Open Access Publishing
op_collection_id ftmdpi
language English
topic cosmic rays
accelerated iron ions
Mars
fungi
life on Mars
spellingShingle cosmic rays
accelerated iron ions
Mars
fungi
life on Mars
Lorenzo Aureli
Claudia Pacelli
Alessia Cassaro
Akira Fujimori
Ralf Moeller
Silvano Onofri
Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
topic_facet cosmic rays
accelerated iron ions
Mars
fungi
life on Mars
description Among the celestial bodies in the Solar System, Mars currently represents the main target for the search for life beyond Earth. However, its surface is constantly exposed to high doses of cosmic rays (CRs) that may pose a threat to any biological system. For this reason, investigations into the limits of resistance of life to space relevant radiation is fundamental to speculate on the chance of finding extraterrestrial organisms on Mars. In the present work, as part of the STARLIFE project, the responses of dried colonies of the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus Culture Collection of Fungi from Extreme Environments (CCFEE) 515 to the exposure to accelerated iron (LET: 200 keV/μm) ions, which mimic part of CRs spectrum, were investigated. Samples were exposed to the iron ions up to 1000 Gy in the presence of Martian regolith analogues. Our results showed an extraordinary resistance of the fungus in terms of survival, recovery of metabolic activity and DNA integrity. These experiments give new insights into the survival probability of possible terrestrial-like life forms on the present or past Martian surface and shallow subsurface environments.
format Text
author Lorenzo Aureli
Claudia Pacelli
Alessia Cassaro
Akira Fujimori
Ralf Moeller
Silvano Onofri
author_facet Lorenzo Aureli
Claudia Pacelli
Alessia Cassaro
Akira Fujimori
Ralf Moeller
Silvano Onofri
author_sort Lorenzo Aureli
title Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
title_short Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
title_full Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
title_fullStr Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
title_full_unstemmed Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues
title_sort iron ion particle radiation resistance of dried colonies of cryomyces antarcticus embedded in martian regolith analogues
publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
publishDate 2020
url https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306
op_coverage agris
genre Antarc*
antarcticus
genre_facet Antarc*
antarcticus
op_source Life; Volume 10; Issue 12; Pages: 306
op_relation https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life10120306
op_rights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306
container_title Life
container_volume 10
container_issue 12
container_start_page 306
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