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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

Authors :
Claudia Pacelli
Alessia Cassaro
Lorenzo Aureli
Ralf Moeller
Akira Fujimori
Silvano Onofri
Source :
Life, Vol 10, Iss 8, p 130 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2020.

Abstract

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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20751729
Volume :
10
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Life
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.79258f55ac984e4c97fb3a101e2f7e78
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080130