Nicholson, Wayne L. and Moeller, Ralf and the PROTECT Team, * and Horneck, Gerda (2012) Transcriptomic Responses of Germinating Bacillus subtilis Spores Exposed to 1.5 Years of Space and Simulated Martian Conditions on the EXPOSE-E Experiment PROTECT. Astrobiology, 12 (5), pp. 469-486. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0748.
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Because of their ubiquity and resistance to spacecraft decontamination, bacterial spores are considered likely potential forward contaminants on robotic missions to Mars. Thus, it is important to understand their global responses to long-term exposure to space or martian environments. As part of the PROTECT experiment, spores of B. subtilis 168 were exposed to real space conditions and to simulated martian conditions for 559 days in low- Earth orbit mounted on the EXPOSE-E exposure platform outside the European Columbus module on the International Space Station. Upon return, spores were germinated, total RNA extracted, fluorescently labeled, and used to probe a custom Bacillus subtilis microarray to identify genes preferentially activated or repressed relative to ground control spores. Increased transcript levels were detected for a number of stress-related regulons responding to DNA damage (SOS response, SPβ prophage induction), protein damage (CtsR/Clp system), oxidative stress (PerR regulon), and cell envelope stress (SigV regulon). Spores exposed to space demonstrated a much broader and more severe stress response than spores exposed to simulated martian conditions. The results are discussed in the context of planetary protection for a hypothetical journey of potential forward contaminant spores from Earth to Mars and their subsequent residence on Mars.
|Title:||Transcriptomic Responses of Germinating Bacillus subtilis Spores Exposed to 1.5 Years of Space and Simulated Martian Conditions on the EXPOSE-E Experiment PROTECT|
|Journal or Publication Title:||Astrobiology|
|In ISI Web of Science:||Yes|
|Page Range:||pp. 469-486|
|Publisher:||Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.|
|Keywords:||Bacillus, Mars, Planetary protection, Spaceflight, Spores|
|HGF - Research field:||Aeronautics, Space and Transport, Aeronautics, Space and Transport (old)|
|HGF - Program:||Space, Space (old)|
|HGF - Program Themes:||Research under Space Conditions, W FR - Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen (old)|
|DLR - Research area:||Raumfahrt, Space|
|DLR - Program:||R FR - Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen, W FR - Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen|
|DLR - Research theme (Project):||R - Vorhaben Strahlenbiologie, W - Vorhaben Strahlenbiologie (old)|
|Institutes and Institutions:||Institute of Aerospace Medicine > Radiation Biology|
|Deposited By:||Kerstin Kopp|
|Deposited On:||08 Aug 2012 15:32|
|Last Modified:||20 Mar 2013 19:45|
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