Evaluation of a Cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. HK-01, as Food Material for Space Agriculture on Mars
A terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. HK-01, is a candidate material for introduction to extraterrestrial environments, such as Mars, given its high tolerance to drought and other extraterrestrial environments. Here, we evaluated Nostoc sp. HK-01 as food for future habitation of Mars. We found th...
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Published in | Biological Sciences in Space Vol. 29; pp. 24 - 31 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | Japanese English |
Published |
Sagamihara
Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space
2015
Japan Science and Technology Agency |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. HK-01, is a candidate material for introduction to extraterrestrial environments, such as Mars, given its high tolerance to drought and other extraterrestrial environments. Here, we evaluated Nostoc sp. HK-01 as food for future habitation of Mars. We found that wet colonies of Nostoc sp. HK-01 after initiation survived for over 8 years on Martian regolith simulant (MRS), although they did not survive for over 105 days on medium without MRS. Total protein per 100 g of the dried colony of Nostoc sp. HK-01 was approximately 50 g. Increases in biomass proliferation in liquid or on agar medium were determined in six strains of terrestrial cyanobacteria, including Nostoc sp. HK-01, N. commune HK-02, N. commune YK-04, N. punctiforme ATCC 29133, Brasilonema sp. HK-05 and Calothrix sp. HK-06. Nostoc sp. HK-01 grew better compared to the other five strains under both conditions. Following the incubation of Nostoc sp. HK-01, the medium exhibited radical-scavenging activity. Sugar content in the medium after a 1-day incubation of Nostoc sp. HK-01 was one-sixth of its dry weight at initiation. These results indicate that, after liquid incubation, the remaining cells may be used as recyclable materials on Mars. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0914-9201 1349-967X |
DOI: | 10.2187/bss.29.24 |