Following the Astrobiology Roadmap: Origins, Habitability and Future Exploration

O’Rourke, Aubrie; Zoumplis, Angela; Wilburn, Paul; Lee, Michael; Lee, Zhi; Vecina, Marissa; Mercader, Kysha

doi:10.21775/cimb.038.001

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 116 publications

(137 reference statements)

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“…Astrobiology is a scientific discipline concerned with the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe ( Des Marais et al, 2008 ; Hays et al, 2015 ; Cockell, 2020 ; O’rourke et al, 2020 ; Lingam and Loeb, 2021 ; Bennett et al, 2022 ). The use of the term life in reference to the object of study of astrobiology may raise doubts about whether viruses should be included in its field of research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viruses in astrobiology

Higuera

Lázaro²

2022

Front. Microbiol.

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Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, and yet, they have not received enough consideration in astrobiology. Viruses are also extraordinarily diverse, which is evident in the types of relationships they establish with their host, their strategies to store and replicate their genetic information and the enormous diversity of genes they contain. A viral population, especially if it corresponds to a virus with an RNA genome, can contain an array of sequence variants that greatly exceeds what is present in most cell populations. The fact that viruses always need cellular resources to multiply means that they establish very close interactions with cells. Although in the short term these relationships may appear to be negative for life, it is evident that they can be beneficial in the long term. Viruses are one of the most powerful selective pressures that exist, accelerating the evolution of defense mechanisms in the cellular world. They can also exchange genetic material with the host during the infection process, providing organisms with capacities that favor the colonization of new ecological niches or confer an advantage over competitors, just to cite a few examples. In addition, viruses have a relevant participation in the biogeochemical cycles of our planet, contributing to the recycling of the matter necessary for the maintenance of life. Therefore, although viruses have traditionally been excluded from the tree of life, the structure of this tree is largely the result of the interactions that have been established throughout the intertwined history of the cellular and the viral worlds. We do not know how other possible biospheres outside our planet could be, but it is clear that viruses play an essential role in the terrestrial one. Therefore, they must be taken into account both to improve our understanding of life that we know, and to understand other possible lives that might exist in the cosmos.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viruses in astrobiology

Higuera

Lázaro²

2022

Front. Microbiol.

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Water and microbial monitoring technologies towards the near future space exploration

et al. 2020

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Microfluidic-Assisted Human Cancer Cells Culturing Platform for Space Biology Applications

(Podwin)

Jarosz

Śniadek

et al. 2022

Sensors

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In the paper, the lab-on-chip platform applicable for the long-term cultivation of human cancer cells, as a solution meeting the demands of the CubeSat biological missions, is presented. For the first time, the selected cancer cell lines—UM-UC-3 and RT 112 were cultured on-chip for up to 50 days. The investigation was carried out in stationary conditions (without medium microflow) in ambient temperature and utilizing the microflow perfusion system in the incubation chamber assuring typical cultivation atmosphere (37 °C). All the experiments were performed to imitate the conditions that are provided before the biological mission starts (waiting for the rocket launch) and when the actual experiment is initialized on a CubeSat board in space microgravity. The results of the tests showed appropriate performance of the lab-on-chip platform, especially in the context of material and technological biocompatibility. Cultured cells were characterized by adequate morphology—high attachment rate and visible signs of proliferation in each of the experimental stage. These results are a good basis for further tests of the lab-on-chip platform in both terrestrial and space conditions. At the end of the manuscript, the authors provide some considerations regarding a potential 3-Unit CubeSat biological mission launched with Virgin Orbit company. The lab-on-chip platform was modelled to fit a 2-Unit autonomous laboratory payload.

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Following the Astrobiology Roadmap: Origins, Habitability and Future Exploration

Cited by 3 publications

References 116 publications

Viruses in astrobiology

Viruses in astrobiology

Water and microbial monitoring technologies towards the near future space exploration

Microfluidic-Assisted Human Cancer Cells Culturing Platform for Space Biology Applications

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