The BOSS and BIOMEX space experiments on the EXPOSE-R2 mission: Endurance of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis under simulated space vacuum,Martian atmosphere,UVC radiation and temperature extremes. |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Department of Biology, Rome, Italy;2. German Aerospace Center (DLR) Berlin, Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany;3. German Aerospace Center (DLR) Cologne, Germany;1. The Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (CRESS), York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3;2. School of Geography & Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L8;3. Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3B 2E9;1. CNRS, Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, UPR 4301, Rue Charles Sadron, CS80054, 45071, Orléans Cedex 2, France;2. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, I-40126, Bologna, Italy;3. Lunar and Planetary Institute (USRA), 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX, 77058, USA;4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX, 77058-3696, USA;5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Williamson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK;6. Dipartimento di Scienze Della Terra – Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126, Pisa, Italy;7. Centro per la Integrazione Della Strumentazione Dell’Università di Pisa (CISUP), Lungarno Pacinotti 43/44, 56126, Pisa, Italy;8. Space Research Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK;9. School of Physical Sciences, Ingram Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH, UK;10. Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC, UCM), c/ Doctor Severo Ochoa, 7, Edificio Entrepabellones 7 y 8, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain;11. Laboratoire G-Time, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50, 1050, Bruxelles, Belgium;12. Deptartment of Interdisciplinary Space Science, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5210, Japan;13. Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7, 1010, Vienna, Austria;14. School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Gregory Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK;15. Department of Earth Sciences, James Lee Building, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong;p. ESA Harwell, Atlas Building, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK;q. European Space Agency, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2200, AG, Noordwijk, the Netherlands;r. Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales, 2 Place Maurice Quentin, 75039, Paris, Cedex 1, France;s. Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, United Kingdom;t. Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany;1. CNRS Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Rue Charles Sadron, 45071, Orléans, France;2. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni, 67, I 40126, Bologna, Italy;3. Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France;4. Università Degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy;1. Program in Molecular Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;1. Institute of Green Environmental Research, Incheon National University, 7-46 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea;2. Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;3. Anti-aging Research Institute of BIO-FD&C Co., Ltd., Phytomecca Co., Ltd., Pilot Plant 7-50, Songdo-dong, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea;4. South Sea Environment Research Department, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Geoje 656-830, Republic of Korea;5. Department of Marine Science, Incheon National University, 12-1 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea;6. Department of Chemistry, Incheon National University, 12-1 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea;7. School of Marine Science & Engineering, Plymouth University, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, United Kingdom;8. Neue Str. 9, 91096 Möhrendorf, Germany;1. CNRS Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (CBM), Rue Charles Sadron, 45071 Orléans, France;2. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy;3. Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | The proposed space experiments BOSS (Biofilm Organisms Surfing Space) and BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars experiment) will take place on the space exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 on the International Space Station (ISS), which is set to be launched in 2014. In BOSS the hypothesis to be tested is that microorganisms grown as biofilms, hence embedded in self-produced extracellular polymeric substances, are more tolerant to space and Martian conditions compared to their planktonic counterparts. Various microbial biofilms have been developed including those obtained from the cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis isolated from hot and cold deserts. The prime objective of BIOMEX is to evaluate to what extent biomolecules are resistant to, and can maintain their stability under, space and Mars-like conditions; therefore a variety of pigments and cell components are under investigation to establish a biosignature data base; e.g. a Raman spectral library to be used for extraterrestrial life biosignatures. The secondary objective of BIOMEX is to investigate the endurance of extremophiles, focusing on their interactions with Lunar and Martian mineral analogues. Ground-based studies are currently being carried out in the framework of EVTs (Experiment Verification Tests) by exposing selected organisms to space and Martian simulations. Results on a desert strain of Chroococcidiopsis obtained from the first set of EVT, e.g. space vacuum, Mars atmosphere, UVC radiation, temperature cycles and extremes, suggested that dried biofilms exhibited an enhanced survival compared to planktonic lifestyle. Moreover the protection provided by a Martian mineral analogue (S-MRS) to the sub-cellular integrities of Chroococcidiopsis against UVC radiation supports the endurance of this cyanobacterium under extraterrestrial conditions and its relevance in the development of life detection strategies. |
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| Keywords: | Astrobiology Expose-R2 BOSS BIOMEX Ground-based simulations Cyanobacteria |
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