Yeast demonstrates survival skills under Mars conditions

Researchers from the Department of Biochemistry at the Indian Institute of Science and the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad have shown that baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) can endure the extreme conditions found on Mars. Their study exposed yeast cells to high-intensity shock waves, simulating meteorite impacts, and toxic perchlorate salts present in Martian soil.

Using a High-Intensity Shock Tube for Astrochemistry, the team tested yeast cells against shock waves of Mach 5.6 and subjected them to 100 mM sodium perchlorate, both separately and concurrently. The yeast survived all treatments, though its growth rate slowed. This resilience was attributed to the cells' ability to generate ribonucleoprotein condensates, specifically stress granules and P-bodies, which help reorganize mRNA during stress. Mutant yeast lacking these structures had much lower survival rates.

The research highlights the role of ribonucleoprotein condensates as biomarkers of cellular stress in extraterrestrial environments and demonstrates an integration of shock wave physics, chemical biology, and molecular cell biology to understand life's adaptability. The results suggest baker's yeast can serve as a valuable model for astrobiology and may guide the development of biologically resilient systems for future space missions.

Lead author Riya Dhage explained, "One of the biggest hurdles was setting up the HISTA tube to expose live yeast cells to shock waves - something that has not been attempted before - and then recovering yeast with minimum contamination for downstream experiments." Corresponding author Purusharth I Rajyaguru noted, "We were surprised to observe yeast surviving the Mars-like stress conditions that we used in our experiments. We hope that this study will galvanise efforts to have yeast on board in future space explorations."

Research Report:Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) condensates modulate survival in response to Mars-like stress conditions