Record Details
| Identification of Novel Desiccation-Tolerant S. cerevisiae Strains for Deep Space Biosensors | |||||||||
| NTRS Full-Text: | Click to View [PDF Size: 8.10 MB] | ||||||||
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| Abstract: | NASA's BioSentinel mission, a secondary payload that will fly on the Space Launch System's first Exploration Mission (EM-1), utilizes the budding yeast S. cerevisiae to study the biological response to the deep space radiation environment. Yeast samples are desiccated prior to launch to suspend growth and metabolism while the spacecraft travels to its target heliocentric orbit beyond Low Earth Orbit. Each sample is then rehydrated at the desired time points to reactivate the cells. A major risk in this mission is the loss of cell viability that occurs in the recovery period following the desiccation and rehydration process. Cell survival is essential for the detection of the biological response to features in the deep space environment, including ionizing radiation. The aim of this study is to mitigate viable cell loss in future biosensors by identifying mutations and genes that confer tolerance to desiccation stress in rad51, a radiation-sensitive yeast strain. We initiated a screen for desiccation-tolerance after rehydrating cells that were desiccated for three years, and selected various clones exhibiting robust growth. To verify retention of radiation sensitivity in the isolated clones - a crucial feature for a successful biosensor - we exposed them to ionizing radiation. Finally, to elucidate the genetic and molecular bases for observed desiccation-tolerance, we will perform whole-genome sequencing of those rad51 clones that exhibit both robust growth and radiation sensitivity following desiccation. The identification and characterization of desiccation-tolerant strains will allow us to engineer a biological model that will be resilient in face of the challenges of the deep space environment, and will thus ensure the experimental success of future biosensor missions. | ||||||||
| Publication Date: | Oct 25, 2017 | ||||||||
| Document ID: |
20170011555
(Acquired Dec 14, 2017)
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| Subject Category: | LIFE SCIENCES (GENERAL); LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION | ||||||||
| Report/Patent Number: | ARC-E-DAA-TN47966 | ||||||||
| Document Type: | Oral/Visual Presentation | ||||||||
| Meeting Information: | Annual Meeting American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR 2017); 33rd; 25-28 Oct. 2017; Seattle, WA; United States | ||||||||
| Meeting Sponsor: | American Society for Gravitational and Space Research; Bristow, VA, United States | ||||||||
| Contract/Grant/Task Num: | NNA14AB82C; NNX15AG98A | ||||||||
| Financial Sponsor: | NASA Ames Research Center; Moffett Field, CA, United States | ||||||||
| Organization Source: | NASA Ames Research Center; Moffett Field, CA, United States | ||||||||
| Description: | 1p; In English | ||||||||
| Distribution Limits: | Unclassified; Publicly available; Unlimited | ||||||||
| Rights: | Copyright; Public use permitted | ||||||||
| NASA Terms: | DRYING; YEAST; EXTRATERRESTRIAL RADIATION; IONIZING RADIATION; BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS; BIOINSTRUMENTATION; CELL CULTURING; RADIATION DETECTORS; RADIATION TOLERANCE; DEEP SPACE; EARTH ORBITAL ENVIRONMENTS; SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM (SLS); EXPLORATION MISSION-1; NASA SPACE PROGRAMS | ||||||||
| Other Descriptors: | S. CEREVISIAE; DESICCATION-TOLERANCE; BIOSENSO | ||||||||