Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation
Life dispersal between planets, planetary protection, and the search for biosignatures are main topics in astrobiology. Under the umbrella of the STARLIFE project, three Antarctic endolithic microorganisms, the melanized fungus Cryomyces antarcticus CCFEE 515, a hyaline strain of Umbilicaria sp. (CC...
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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
2017
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5314979 2023-05-15T13:31:47+02:00 Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation Pacelli, Claudia Selbmann, Laura Zucconi, Laura Raguse, Marina Moeller, Ralf Shuryak, Igor Onofri, Silvano 2017-02-01 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5314979/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28151696 https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 en eng Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5314979/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28151696 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 Copyright 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Special Collection: STARLIFE—Intercomparison Study of Astrobiological Model Systems in Their Response to Major Components of Galactic Cosmic RadiationGuest Editors: Ralf Moeller and Gerda HorneckResearch Articles Text 2017 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 2018-02-04T01:12:05Z Life dispersal between planets, planetary protection, and the search for biosignatures are main topics in astrobiology. Under the umbrella of the STARLIFE project, three Antarctic endolithic microorganisms, the melanized fungus Cryomyces antarcticus CCFEE 515, a hyaline strain of Umbilicaria sp. (CCFEE 6113, lichenized fungus), and a Stichococcus sp. strain (C45A, green alga), were exposed to high doses of space-relevant gamma radiation (60Co), up to 117.07 kGy. After irradiation survival, DNA integrity and ultrastructural damage were tested. The first was assessed by clonogenic test; viability and dose responses were reasonably described by the linear-quadratic formalism. DNA integrity was evaluated by PCR, and ultrastructural damage was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The most resistant among the tested organisms was C. antarcticus both in terms of colony formation and DNA preservation. Besides, results clearly demonstrate that DNA was well detectable in all the tested organisms even when microorganisms were dead. This high resistance provides support for the use of DNA as a possible biosignature during the next exploration campaigns. Implication in planetary protection and contamination during long-term space travel are put forward. Key Words: Biosignatures—Ionizing radiation—DNA integrity—Eukaryotic microorganisms—Fingerprinting—Mars exploration. Astrobiology 17, 126–135. Text Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus PubMed Central (PMC) Antarctic Astrobiology 17 2 126 135 |
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English |
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Special Collection: STARLIFE—Intercomparison Study of Astrobiological Model Systems in Their Response to Major Components of Galactic Cosmic RadiationGuest Editors: Ralf Moeller and Gerda HorneckResearch Articles |
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Special Collection: STARLIFE—Intercomparison Study of Astrobiological Model Systems in Their Response to Major Components of Galactic Cosmic RadiationGuest Editors: Ralf Moeller and Gerda HorneckResearch Articles Pacelli, Claudia Selbmann, Laura Zucconi, Laura Raguse, Marina Moeller, Ralf Shuryak, Igor Onofri, Silvano Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
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Special Collection: STARLIFE—Intercomparison Study of Astrobiological Model Systems in Their Response to Major Components of Galactic Cosmic RadiationGuest Editors: Ralf Moeller and Gerda HorneckResearch Articles |
description |
Life dispersal between planets, planetary protection, and the search for biosignatures are main topics in astrobiology. Under the umbrella of the STARLIFE project, three Antarctic endolithic microorganisms, the melanized fungus Cryomyces antarcticus CCFEE 515, a hyaline strain of Umbilicaria sp. (CCFEE 6113, lichenized fungus), and a Stichococcus sp. strain (C45A, green alga), were exposed to high doses of space-relevant gamma radiation (60Co), up to 117.07 kGy. After irradiation survival, DNA integrity and ultrastructural damage were tested. The first was assessed by clonogenic test; viability and dose responses were reasonably described by the linear-quadratic formalism. DNA integrity was evaluated by PCR, and ultrastructural damage was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The most resistant among the tested organisms was C. antarcticus both in terms of colony formation and DNA preservation. Besides, results clearly demonstrate that DNA was well detectable in all the tested organisms even when microorganisms were dead. This high resistance provides support for the use of DNA as a possible biosignature during the next exploration campaigns. Implication in planetary protection and contamination during long-term space travel are put forward. Key Words: Biosignatures—Ionizing radiation—DNA integrity—Eukaryotic microorganisms—Fingerprinting—Mars exploration. Astrobiology 17, 126–135. |
format |
Text |
author |
Pacelli, Claudia Selbmann, Laura Zucconi, Laura Raguse, Marina Moeller, Ralf Shuryak, Igor Onofri, Silvano |
author_facet |
Pacelli, Claudia Selbmann, Laura Zucconi, Laura Raguse, Marina Moeller, Ralf Shuryak, Igor Onofri, Silvano |
author_sort |
Pacelli, Claudia |
title |
Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
title_short |
Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
title_full |
Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
title_fullStr |
Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Survival, DNA Integrity, and Ultrastructural Damage in Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Eukaryotic Microorganisms Exposed to Ionizing Radiation |
title_sort |
survival, dna integrity, and ultrastructural damage in antarctic cryptoendolithic eukaryotic microorganisms exposed to ionizing radiation |
publisher |
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5314979/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28151696 https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 |
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Antarctic |
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Antarctic |
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Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus |
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Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5314979/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28151696 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2015.1456 |
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Astrobiology |
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17 |
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2 |
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126 |
op_container_end_page |
135 |
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1766020854952493056 |