The Responses of the Black Fungus Cryomyces Antarcticus to High Doses of Accelerated Helium Ions Radiation within Martian Regolith Simulants and Their Relevance for Mars

One of the primary current astrobiological goals is to understand the limits of microbial resistance to extraterrestrial conditions. Much attention is paid to ionizing radiation, since it can prevent the preservation and spread of life outside the Earth. The aim of this research was to study the imp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Life (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2020-07, Vol.10 (8), p.130
Main Authors: Pacelli, Claudia, Cassaro, Alessia, Aureli, Lorenzo, Moeller, Ralf, Fujimori, Akira, Onofri, Silvano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrobiology
black fungi
Cosmic radiation
Cosmic rays
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Earth
Environmental conditions
Extraterrestrial radiation
Fungi
Galactic cosmic rays
Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs)
Geological time
Helium
Helium ions
Ionizing radiation
Ions
Irradiation
Laboratories
Mars
Mars environment
Mars surface
Melanin
Microorganisms
Minerals
Pigments
Preservation
Regolith
resistance
Sandstone
Spectrophotometry
Spectrum analysis
survival
Ultraviolet radiation
UV-vis spectroscopy
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Summary:One of the primary current astrobiological goals is to understand the limits of microbial resistance to extraterrestrial conditions. Much attention is paid to ionizing radiation, since it can prevent the preservation and spread of life outside the Earth. The aim of this research was to study the impact of accelerated He ions (150 MeV/n, up to 1 kGy) as a component of the galactic cosmic rays on the black fungus C. antarcticus when mixed with Antarctic sandstones—the substratum of its natural habitat—and two Martian regolith simulants, which mimics two different evolutionary stages of Mars. The high dose of 1 kGy was used to assess the effect of dose accumulation in dormant cells within minerals, under long-term irradiation estimated on a geological time scale. The data obtained suggests that viable Earth-like microorganisms can be preserved in the dormant state in the near-surface scenario for approximately 322.000 and 110.000 Earth years within Martian regolith that mimic early and present Mars environmental conditions, respectively. In addition, the results of the study indicate the possibility of maintaining traces within regolith, as demonstrated by the identification of melanin pigments through UltraViolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometric approach.
ISSN:2075-1729
2075-1729
DOI:10.3390/life10080130