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Iqbal S, Begum F, Ullah I, Jalal N, Shaw P. Peeling off the layers from microbial dark matter (MDM): recent advances, future challenges, and opportunities. Crit Rev Microbiol 2024:1-21. [PMID: 38385313 DOI: 10.1080/1040841x.2024.2319669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Microbes represent the most common organisms on Earth; however, less than 2% of microbial species in the environment can undergo cultivation for study under laboratory conditions, and the rest of the enigmatic, microbial world remains mysterious, constituting a kind of "microbial dark matter" (MDM). In the last two decades, remarkable progress has been made in culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. More recently, studies of MDM have relied on culture-independent techniques to recover genetic material through either unicellular genomics or shotgun metagenomics to construct single-amplified genomes (SAGs) and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), respectively, which provide information about evolution and metabolism. Despite the remarkable progress made in the past decades, the functional diversity of MDM still remains uncharacterized. This review comprehensively summarizes the recently developed culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques for characterizing MDM, discussing major challenges, opportunities, and potential applications. These activities contribute to expanding our knowledge of the microbial world and have implications for various fields including Biotechnology, Bioprospecting, Functional genomics, Medicine, Evolutionary and Planetary biology. Overall, this review aims to peel off the layers from MDM, shed light on recent advancements, identify future challenges, and illuminate the exciting opportunities that lie ahead in unraveling the secrets of this intriguing microbial realm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajid Iqbal
- Oujiang Lab (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision, and Brain Health), Wenzhou, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Farida Begum
- Department of Biochemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan
| | - Ihsan Ullah
- College of Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Nasir Jalal
- Oujiang Lab (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision, and Brain Health), Wenzhou, China
| | - Peter Shaw
- Oujiang Lab (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision, and Brain Health), Wenzhou, China
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Olsson-Francis K, Doran PT, Ilyin V, Raulin F, Rettberg P, Kminek G, Mier MPZ, Coustenis A, Hedman N, Shehhi OA, Ammannito E, Bernardini J, Fujimoto M, Grasset O, Groen F, Hayes A, Gallagher S, Kumar K P, Mustin C, Nakamura A, Seasly E, Suzuki Y, Peng J, Prieto-Ballesteros O, Sinibaldi S, Xu K, Zaitsev M. The COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy for robotic missions to Mars: A review of current scientific knowledge and future perspectives. LIFE SCIENCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 2023; 36:27-35. [PMID: 36682826 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Planetary protection guidance for martian exploration has become a notable point of discussion over the last decade. This is due to increased scientific interest in the habitability of the red planet with updated techniques, missions becoming more attainable by smaller space agencies, and both the private sector and governments engaging in activities to facilitate commercial opportunities and human-crewed missions. The international standards for planetary protection have been developed through consultation with the scientific community and the space agencies by the Committee on Space Research's (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection, which provides guidance for compliance with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. In 2021, the Panel evaluated recent scientific data and literature regarding the planetary protection requirements for Mars and the implications of this on the guidelines. In this paper, we discuss the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy for Mars, review the new scientific findings and discuss the next steps required to enable the next generation of robotic missions to Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Olsson-Francis
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
| | - Peter T Doran
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Vyacheslav Ilyin
- Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Francois Raulin
- Univ Paris Est Cr Univ Paris Est Créteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F-94010 Créteil, France
| | - Petra Rettberg
- German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Research Group Astrobiology, 51147 Cologne, Germany
| | | | - María-Paz Zorzano Mier
- Centro deAstrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Athena Coustenis
- LESIA, Paris Observatory, PSL University, CNRS, Paris University, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - Niklas Hedman
- Committee, Policy and Legal Affairs Section, Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations Office at Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - James Bernardini
- Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - Masaki Fujimoto
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Frank Groen
- Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - Alex Hayes
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6801, USA
| | - Sarah Gallagher
- Institute of Earth and Space Exploration, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Akiko Nakamura
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo,7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Elaine Seasly
- Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - Yohey Suzuki
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo,7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Jing Peng
- China National Space Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Olga Prieto-Ballesteros
- Centro deAstrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Kanyan Xu
- Laboratory of Space Microbiology, Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group, Chinese Academy of Space Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Maxim Zaitsev
- Planetary Physics Dept., Space Research Inst. of Russian Acad. of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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Flax B, Tortora A, Yeung Y, Schubert WW, McDonnell G. Dry Heat Sterilization Modeling for Spacecraft Applications. J Appl Microbiol 2022; 133:2893-2901. [DOI: 10.1111/jam.15748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian Flax
- Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance, Johnson & Johnson Raritan New Jersey USA
| | - Andrew Tortora
- Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance, Johnson & Johnson Raritan New Jersey USA
| | - Yen Yeung
- Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance, Johnson & Johnson Raritan New Jersey USA
| | - Wayne W. Schubert
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena California USA
| | - Gerald McDonnell
- Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance, Johnson & Johnson Raritan New Jersey USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryuki Hyodo
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Yoshinodai, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan.
| | - Tomohiro Usui
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Yoshinodai, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan
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Traspas A, Burchell MJ. Tardigrade Survival Limits in High-Speed Impacts-Implications for Panspermia and Collection of Samples from Plumes Emitted by Ice Worlds. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:845-852. [PMID: 33978458 PMCID: PMC8262385 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability of tardigrades to survive impact shocks in the kilometer per second and gigapascal range was investigated. When rocks impact planetary surfaces, the impact speeds and shock pressures are in the kilometer per second and gigapascal range. This investigation tested whether tardigrades can survive in impacts typical of those that occur naturally in the Solar System. We found that they can survive impacts up to 0.9 km s-1, which is equivalent to 1.14 GPa shock pressure, but cannot survive impacts above this. This is significantly less than the static pressure limit and has implications for tardigrade survival in panspermia models. The potential survival of tardigrades in impacts of terrestrial impact ejecta on the Moon is shown to be impossible for the average lunar impact speed of such ejecta. However, a notable fraction (around 40%) of such ejecta impact at vertical speeds low enough to permit survival. Similarly, martian impact ejecta striking Phobos, for example, at a typical impact speed will not permit viable transfer of tardigrade-like organisms, but if a fraction of such material had a lower impact speed, survival may be possible. We also consider the implications of this for the collection of viable samples by spacecraft transiting the plumes of icy water worlds such as Europa and Enceladus. We have found the limit on survival of shocks to be around 1 GPa, which is instrumental in determining appropriate mission scenarios and collection methods for the acquisition of viable materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Traspas
- Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Mark J. Burchell
- Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
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YOSHIMURA Y, ENYA K, KOBAYASHI K, SASAKI S, YAMAGISHI A. Life Explorations for Biosignatures in Space. BUNSEKI KAGAKU 2021. [DOI: 10.2116/bunsekikagaku.70.309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka YOSHIMURA
- Department of Advanced Food Sciences, College of Agriculture, Tamagawa University
| | - Keigo ENYA
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
| | - Kensei KOBAYASHI
- Graduate School of Engineering Science, Yokohama National University
| | - Satoshi SASAKI
- School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo University of Technology
| | - Akihiko YAMAGISHI
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences
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Fujiya W, Furukawa Y, Sugahara H, Koike M, Bajo KI, Chabot NL, Miura YN, Moynier F, Russell SS, Tachibana S, Takano Y, Usui T, Zolensky ME. Analytical protocols for Phobos regolith samples returned by the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. EARTH, PLANETS, AND SPACE : EPS 2021; 73:120. [PMID: 34776735 PMCID: PMC8550573 DOI: 10.1186/s40623-021-01438-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch a spacecraft in 2024 for a sample return mission from Phobos (Martian Moons eXploration: MMX). Touchdown operations are planned to be performed twice at different landing sites on the Phobos surface to collect > 10 g of the Phobos surface materials with coring and pneumatic sampling systems on board. The Sample Analysis Working Team (SAWT) of MMX is now designing analytical protocols of the returned Phobos samples to shed light on the origin of the Martian moons as well as the evolution of the Mars-moon system. Observations of petrology and mineralogy, and measurements of bulk chemical compositions and stable isotopic ratios of, e.g., O, Cr, Ti, and Zn can provide crucial information about the origin of Phobos. If Phobos is a captured asteroid composed of primitive chondritic materials, as inferred from its reflectance spectra, geochemical data including the nature of organic matter as well as bulk H and N isotopic compositions characterize the volatile materials in the samples and constrain the type of the captured asteroid. Cosmogenic and solar wind components, most pronounced in noble gas isotopic compositions, can reveal surface processes on Phobos. Long- and short-lived radionuclide chronometry such as 53Mn-53Cr and 87Rb-87Sr systematics can date pivotal events like impacts, thermal metamorphism, and aqueous alteration on Phobos. It should be noted that the Phobos regolith is expected to contain a small amount of materials delivered from Mars, which may be physically and chemically different from any Martian meteorites in our collection and thus are particularly precious. The analysis plan will be designed to detect such Martian materials, if any, from the returned samples dominated by the endogenous Phobos materials in curation procedures at JAXA before they are processed for further analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Fujiya
- Ibaraki University, 2-1-1 Bunkyo, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512 Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Tohoku University, 6-3 Aza-aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578 Japan
| | - Haruna Sugahara
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 Japan
| | - Mizuho Koike
- Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 Japan
| | - Ken-ichi Bajo
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University, N10W8 Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810 Japan
| | - Nancy L. Chabot
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723 USA
| | - Yayoi N. Miura
- Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0032 Japan
| | - Frederic Moynier
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, University of Paris, Paris, France
| | - Sara S. Russell
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD UK
| | - Shogo Tachibana
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 Japan
- UTOPS, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Yoshinori Takano
- Biogeochemistry Research Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, 237-0061 Japan
| | - Tomohiro Usui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 Japan
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Fujita K, Kurosawa K, Genda H, Hyodo R, Matsuyama S, Yamagishi A, Mikouchi T, Niihara T. Assessment of the probability of microbial contamination for sample return from Martian moons I: Departure of microbes from Martian surface. LIFE SCIENCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 2019; 23:73-84. [PMID: 31791608 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2019.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Potential microbial contamination of Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, which can be brought about by transportation of Mars ejecta produced by meteoroid impacts on the Martian surface, has been comprehensively assessed in a statistical approach, based on the most probable history of recent major gigantic meteoroid collisions on the Martian surface. This article is the first part of our study to assess potential microbial density in Mars ejecta departing from the Martian atmosphere, as a source of the second part (Kurosawa et al., 2019) where statistical analysis of microbial contamination probability is conducted. Potential microbial density on the Martian surface as the source of microorganisms was estimated by analogy to the terrestrial areas having the similar arid and cold environments, from which a probabilistic function was deduced as the asymptotic limit. Microbial survival rate during hypervelocity meteoroid collisions was estimated by numerical analysis of impact phenomena with and without taking internal friction and plastic deformation of the colliding meteoroid and the target ground into consideration. Trajectory calculations of departing ejecta through the Martian atmosphere were conducted with taking account of aerodynamic deceleration and heating by the aid of computational fluid dynamic analysis. It is found that Mars ejecta smaller than 0.03 m in diameter hardly reach the Phobos orbit due to aerodynamic deceleration, or mostly sterilized due to significant aerodynamic heating even though they can reach the Phobos orbit and beyond. Finally, the baseline dataset of microbial density in Mars ejecta departing for Martian moons has been presented for the second part of our study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhisa Fujita
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1, Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan.
| | - Kosuke Kurosawa
- Planetary Exploration Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1, Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
| | - Hidenori Genda
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Ryuki Hyodo
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Shingo Matsuyama
- Aeronautical Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 7-44-1, Jindaijihigasi-machi, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8522, Japan
| | - Akihiko Yamagishi
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1, Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0392, Japan
| | - Takashi Mikouchi
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Takafumi Niihara
- Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
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