Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low Earth orbit

@article{Jnsson2008TardigradesSE,
  title={Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low Earth orbit},
  author={K. Ingemar J{\"o}nsson and Elke Rabbow and Ralph O. Schill and Mats Harms-Ringdahl and Petra Rettberg},
  journal={Current Biology},
  year={2008},
  volume={18},
  pages={R729-R731}
}
View on Elsevier
cell.com
326 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
12
Background Citations
132
Methods Citations
8
Results Citations
4

Figures from this paper

326 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Tardigrades in Space Research - Past and Future
TLDR
A short review of the space research performed on tardigrades as well as some considerations for further studies are presented.
Survival of Tardigrades in Extreme Environments: A Model Animal for Astrobiology
TLDR
Future astrobiological research on tardigrades, such as long-term exposure experiments, might provide important insight into the possibilities of existence of animal-like life forms or interplanetary transfer of multicellular organisms in an anhydrobiotic state.
Extreme stress tolerance in tardigrades: surviving space conditions in low earth orbit
TLDR
The primary focus was to assess the impact of cosmic radiation on the survival of the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer and experiments testing extreme cold and vacuum tolerance in R. coronifer show that tardigrades inanhydrobiosis are unaffected by these conditions.
Earth-like and Tardigrade survey of exoplanets
Modelling extreme desiccation tolerance in a marine tardigrade
TLDR
The data reveal that marine tidal tardigrades tolerate extremely rapid and extended periods of desiccation from seawater supporting the argument that these animals are among the toughest organisms on Earth.
Iron Ladies – How Desiccated Asexual Rotifer Adineta vaga Deal With X-Rays and Heavy Ions?
TLDR
The resistance of desiccated A. vaga individuals exposed to increasing doses of X-ray, protons and Fe ions is documented and the capacity of A.vaga individuals to repair DNA DSB induced by different source of radiation was investigated.
Environmental adaptations : radiation tolerance
TLDR
Tolerance to ionizing radiation in tardigrades also seems to be independent of whether the animal has entered a dry anhydrobiotic state or is hydrated with normal activity, however, when exposed to UV radiation, desiccated tARDigrades show a higher tolerance than hydrated animals.
Tolerance of two anhydrobiotic tardigrades Echiniscus testudo and Milnesium inceptum to hypomagnetic conditions
TLDR
The results suggest that the presence of the magnetic field is a very important factor which should be considered in further research focused on potential survival of Earth organisms in outer space, spacecrafts or different planets and moons.
Lichens, new and promising material from experiments in astrobiology
Tolerance to Gamma Radiation in the Marine Heterotardigrade, Echiniscoides sigismundi
TLDR
The first study on radiation tolerance in a marine tardigrade, Echiniscoides sigismundi, is reported, supporting the hypothesis that radiation tolerance is a by-product of adaptive mechanisms to survive desiccation.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 24 REFERENCES
Tardigrades as a potential model organism in space research.
TLDR
The tolerances that make tardigrades suitable for astrobiological studies and the reported radiation tolerance in other anhydrobiotic animals are reviewed, and the possible involvement of an efficient, but yet undocumented, mechanism for DNA repair is discussed.
Radiation tolerance in the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer
TLDR
The study suggests that radiation tolerance in tardigrades is not due to biochemical protectants connected with the desiccated state, but may rely on efficient mechanisms of DNA repair, the nature of which is currently unknown.
Radiation tolerance in the tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum
TLDR
Gamma-irradiation shortened average life span in a dose-dependent manner both in hydrated and anhydrobiotic groups and made tardigradum sterile.
Survival in extreme dryness and DNA-single-strand breaks.
Could life travel across interplanetary space? Panspermia revisited
Protection of Bacterial Spores in Space, a Contribution to the Discussion on Panspermia
TLDR
The data suggest that in a scenario of interplanetary transfer of life, small rock ejecta of a few cm in diameter could be sufficiently large to protect bacterial spores against the intense insolation; however, micron-sized grains, as originally requested by Panspermia, may not provide sufficient protection for spores to survive.
Lichens survive in space: results from the 2005 LICHENS experiment.
TLDR
Findings indicate that most lichenized fungal and algal cells can survive in space after full exposure to massive UV and cosmic radiation, conditions proven to be lethal to bacteria and other microorganisms.
Extreme resistance of bdelloid rotifers to ionizing radiation
TLDR
It is suggested that the extraordinary radiation resistance of bdelloid rotifers is a consequence of their evolutionary adaptation to survive episodes of desiccation encountered in their characteristic habitats and that the damage incurred in such episodes includes DNA breakage that is repaired upon rehydration.
Membrane damage in dehydrated bacteria and its repair.
TLDR
The dehydration of bacteria by vacuum exposure results in damage to the cell membrane, which is a precondition for cell proliferation and repair can proceed rapidly under conditions that permit synthesizing activities.
Bistability and Biasing Effects in the Perception of Ambiguous Point-Light Walkers
TLDR
The perceptually bistable character of point-light walkers has been examined in three experiments and the effects of disambiguating the stimulus by introducing a local depth cue (occlusion) or a more global depth cues (applying perspective projection) were explored.
...
1
2
3
...