Effect of very high pressure on life of plants and animals

Ono, F.; Mori, Yojiro; Sougawa, Masaya; Takarabe, Kenichi; Hada, Yoshio; Nishihira, N.; Motose, Hiroyasu; Saigusa, Masahiro; Matsushima, Yasushi; Ito, Eiji; Saini, N. L.

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/377/1/012053

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…However, expeditions have now fully demonstrated the presence of complex life existing within the oceanic abyss and also at depths to 2 km in mineshafts drilled into the continental crust [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. High pressure effects on organisms ranging from Artemia cysts in a cryptobiotic state, to various spores and seed varieties, as well as the remarkable tardigrade creatures known as “water bears”, have been investigated using large volume techniques at 7.5 GPa, holding the samples at pressure for timescales extending from a few hours to several days [ 40 , 41 , 42 ] ( Figure 2 ). Remarkably, most of the pressurized organisms resume their normal biological function once they are recovered to ambient conditions.…”

Section: Complex Lifeformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, an upper pressure limit would be fixed by the fracture strength of the bacterial cell wall, that may extend even into the megabar range (~100 GPa) for the short timescale events [ 45 ]. In contrast to the bacterial results, shock studies on seeds and spores into the 1–5 GPa range result in lack or delay of germination and altered behavioral or growth patterns [ 42 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. The difference between unicellular and organisms with a complex cellular structure is not known.…”

Section: Compression On a Rapid Timescalementioning

confidence: 99%

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Pressure as a Limiting Factor for Life

Hazael

Meersman

Ono

et al. 2016

Life

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Facts concerning the stability and functioning of key biomolecular components suggest that cellular life should no longer be viable above a few thousand atmospheres (200–300 MPa). However, organisms are seen to survive in the laboratory to much higher pressures, extending into the GPa or even tens of GPa ranges. This is causing main questions to be posed concerning the survival mechanisms of simple to complex organisms. Understanding the ultimate pressure survival of organisms is critical for food sterilization and agricultural products conservation technologies. On Earth the deep biosphere is limited in its extent by geothermal gradients but if life forms exist in cooler habitats elsewhere then survival to greater depths must be considered. The extent of pressure resistance and survival appears to vary greatly with the timescale of the exposure. For example, shock experiments on nanosecond timescales reveal greatly enhanced survival rates extending to higher pressure. Some organisms could survive bolide impacts thus allowing successful transport between planetary bodies. We summarize some of the main questions raised by recent results and their implications for the survival of life under extreme compression conditions and its possible extent in the laboratory and throughout the universe.

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Section: Complex Lifeformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Compression On a Rapid Timescalementioning

confidence: 99%

Pressure as a Limiting Factor for Life

Hazael

Meersman

Ono

et al. 2016

Life

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“…However, the main reason for the interest in tardigrades lies in their capacity to cope with the harshest treatments or to withstand deleterious environmental conditions. For example, they can survive a 10 kJ/m 2 UV exposure [ 2 ], a ten-day space flight exposure to solar radiation at low earth orbit in the space vacuum [ 3 ], and an exposure of up to 7.5 GPa [ 4 ], a pressure equal to that prevailing at a depth of up to 180 km from the earth surface. Moreover, tardigrades can resist harsh treatments with organic solvents [ 5 ], extreme temperatures (ranging from -272 to 151°C) or high radiation dose (kGy) intensities [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the viability of tardigrades with a molecular sensor related to death

Richaud

Galas

2018

PLoS ONE

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The design of experimental protocols that use animal models to assess the impact of a stress on a population or to determine the life span expectancy impact can be time-consuming due to the need for direct observations of dead and living animals. These experiments are usually based on the detectable activity of animals such as food intake or mobility and can sometimes produce either under- or overestimated results. The tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris is an emerging model for the evolutionary biology of the tardigrade phylum because of its convenient laboratory breeding and the recent introduction of new molecular tools. In this report, we describe the use of a new fluorescent dye that can specifically stain dead tardigrades. Furthermore, we also monitored the absence of a toxic side effect of the death-linked fluorescent dye on tardigrade populations. Finally, we conclude that tardigrade experiments that require survival counting of the Hypsibius exemplaris species can be greatly improved by using this technique in order to limit underestimation of alive animals.

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“…A growing interest is developing in the area of high-pressure biology [1,2]. However, there is a relatively small body of work in the literature concerning the effects of high pressure on plant seeds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%