resistance of microorganisms to extreme environmental conditions and its contribution to astrobiology抗微生物极端环境条件及其对天体生物学的贡献.pdf

Sustainability 2010, 2, 1602-1623; doi:10.3390/su2061602 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Review Resistance of Microorganisms to Extreme Environmental Conditions and Its Contribution to Astrobiology Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto 1,2 1 Exobiology and Biosphere Laboratory, Southern Regional Space Research Center, National Institute for Space Research, P.O. Box 5021, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil 2 Department of Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, P.O. Box 5096, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil; E-Mail: pabulo@lacesm.ufsm.br; Tel.: +55-55-3301-2208; Fax: +55-55-3301-2030. Received: 26 April 2010; in revised form: 6 May 2010 / Accepted: 24 May 2010 / Published: 4 June 2010 Abstract: In the last decades, substantial changes have occurred regarding what scientists consider the limits of habitable environmental conditions. For every extreme environmental condition investigated, a variety of microorganisms have shown that not only can they tolerate these conditions, but that they also often require these extreme conditions for survival. Microbes can return to life even after hundreds of millions of years. Furthermore, a variety of studies demonstrate that microorganisms can survive under extreme conditions, such as ultracentrifugation, hypervelocity, shock pressure, high temperature variations, vacuums, and different ultraviolet and ionizing radiation intensities, which simulate the