RESEARCHERS had made the extraordinary discovery that Earth’s bacteria can survive on an “extraterrestrial diet”, fuelling theories alien life is possible.
Recent years have witnessed renewed interest in manned missions to the Moon and even Mars. Such endeavours will inevitably result in microorganisms on astronauts and equipment coming into contact with extraterrestrial environments.
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And scientists have now found bacteria can survive in the extremes of outer space environments – suggesting primitive forms of alien life can do the same.
Regardless of how well astronauts and their instruments are decontaminated, microorganisms cannot be prevented from inadvertently accompanying them.
Given the enormous adaptability potential of bacteria, it is conceivable they could even survive space travel and thrive in an extraterrestrial environment.
For this Radboud University study, four non-fastidious environment-derived bacterial species with pathogenic features were selected, including Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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To determine whether extraterrestrial survival and growth were possible, the researchers developed a minimal bacterial diet based on nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, iron and water to which carbohydrates found in carbonaceous meteorites were added.
The four bacterial species were shown to survive and even reproduce even on this minimal diet.
Follow-up experiments found the adaptation of bacteria, especially in the case of Klebsiella pneumoniae, caused changes in the cell membrane.
This was a result of the immune system reacting more strongly to the bacteria.
The bacteria as a result become more immunogenic.
Research in cell culture, but also in mice, showed that the bacteria survive on extraterrestrial nutrients and become less virulent as a result of this necessary adaptation.
This research shows bacteria can survive under these conditions, meaning that the risk of infection among extraterrestrial travellers remains.
This corresponds with other studies showing space journey has negative effects on the functioning of the immune system, making astronauts increasingly susceptible to infection.
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The study neatly coincides with a study suggests alien bacteria could breathe helium and hydrogen on exoplanets.
If so, this would shift the hunt for alien life beyond oxygen-bathed planets to ones with seemingly inhospitable atmospheres.
Researchers led by MIT planetary scientist Professor Sara Seager set out to learn whether atmospheres composed of hydrogen and helium could support alien life.
They selected two forms of Earth life that could exist without oxygen: E. coli, a bacteria found in the guts of many animals, including humans; and ordinary yeast.
The scientists took living cultures of both organisms and put them in several separate flasks and replaced the atmosphere inside with other gases.
One set of flasks was filled with pure hydrogen, while another was replaced with pure helium.
Every few hours, the scientists removed some of the E. coli and yeast to find out if they survived.
The researchers reported both organisms were able to live in all atmospheres.
However, the fact both organisms survived in pure hydrogen and helium environments has potentially important consequences for astrobiologists, as the finding “opens the possibility for a much broader spectrum of habitats for life on diverse habitable worlds,”
Professor Seager announced E coli also produced a series of waste products that are already on the list of possible biosignatures of extraterrestrial life, including ammonia, methanethiol and nitrous oxide.
Sourse: www.express.co.uk
