Exploiting a perchlorate-tolerant desert cyanobacterium to support bacterial growth for in situ resource utilization on Mars
| Autor: | Daniela Billi, Claudia Fagliarone, Beatriz Gallego Fernandez, Lynn J. Rothschild, Salvatore Chiavarini |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Billi, D., Gallego Fernandez, B., Fagliarone, C., Chiavarini, S., Rothschild, L. J. |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Cyanobacteria
ISRU Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) Settore BIO/01 Perchlorate Heterotroph Mars Martian soil Bacterial growth 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences chemistry.chemical_compound 0103 physical sciences Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) 010303 astronomy & astrophysics Life support system Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences biology Life support In situ resource utilization biology.organism_classification chemistry Space and Planetary Science Environmental chemistry Martian regolith simulant |
| Popis: | The presence of perchlorate in the Martian soil may limit in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies to support human outposts. In order to exploit the desiccation, radiation-tolerant cyanobacterium Chroococcidopsis in Biological Life Support Systems based on ISRU, we investigated the perchlorate tolerance of Chroococcidopsis sp. CCMEE 029 and its derivative CCMEE 029 P-MRS. This strain was obtained from dried cells mixed with Martian regolith simulant and exposed to Mars-like conditions during the BIOMEX space experiment. After a 55-day exposure of up to 200 mM perchlorate ions, a tolerance threshold value of 100 mM perchlorate ions was identified for both Chroococcidopsis strains. After 40-day incubation, a Mars-relevant perchlorate concentration of 2.4 mM perchlorate ions, provided as a 60 and 40% mixture of Mg- and Ca-perchlorate, had no negative effect on the growth rate of the two strains. A proof-of-concept experiment was conducted using Chroococcidopsis lysate in ISRU technologies to feed a heterotrophic bacterium, i.e. an Escherichia coli strain capable of metabolizing sucrose. The sucrose content was fivefold increased in Chroococcidopsis cells through air-drying and the yielded lysate successfully supported the bacterial growth. This suggested that Chroococcidopsis is a suitable candidate for ISRU technologies to support heterotrophic BLSS components in a Mars-relevant perchlorate environment that would prove challenging to many other cyanobacteria, allowing a ‘live off the land’ approach on Mars. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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