TY - JOUR U1 - Zeitschriftenartikel, wissenschaftlich - begutachtet (reviewed) A1 - Aureli, Lorenzo A1 - Pacelli, Claudia A1 - Cassaro, Alessia A1 - Fujimori, Akira A1 - Moeller, Ralf A1 - Onofri, Silvano T1 - Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues JF - Life N2 - Among the celestial bodies in the Solar System, Mars currently represents the main target for the search for life beyond Earth. However, its surface is constantly exposed to high doses of cosmic rays (CRs) that may pose a threat to any biological system. For this reason, investigations into the limits of resistance of life to space relevant radiation is fundamental to speculate on the chance of finding extraterrestrial organisms on Mars. In the present work, as part of the STARLIFE project, the responses of dried colonies of the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus Culture Collection of Fungi from Extreme Environments (CCFEE) 515 to the exposure to accelerated iron (LET: 200 keV/μm) ions, which mimic part of CRs spectrum, were investigated. Samples were exposed to the iron ions up to 1000 Gy in the presence of Martian regolith analogues. Our results showed an extraordinary resistance of the fungus in terms of survival, recovery of metabolic activity and DNA integrity. These experiments give new insights into the survival probability of possible terrestrial-like life forms on the present or past Martian surface and shallow subsurface environments. KW - cosmic rays KW - accelerated iron ions KW - Mars KW - fungi KW - life on Mars UN - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1044-opus-52481 SN - 2075-1729 SS - 2075-1729 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306 PM - 33255166 VL - 10 IS - 12 SP - 12 S1 - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -