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- Scientific debate: Radiation-resistant mushrooms will help grow food in space
Scientific debate: Radiation-resistant mushrooms will help grow food in space
Scientists have found living organisms — fungi of several species — in the center of the IBR-2 research reactor in Dubna. Now they are conducting a study of their genome to find out which features helped them survive the radiation background, 16 times higher than the lethal dose for humans. Perhaps mutations in the genes that lead to such high resistance will be found. Subsequently, it will be possible to clone these genes and embed them in other organisms in order to achieve a similar effect, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. This will be useful for creating radiation-resistant crops that can be grown in space during long-range missions.
Mushrooms in the reactor
Scientists from the Molecular Genetics Cell sector of the Laboratory of Nuclear Problems of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) have discovered that living organisms, fungi of several species, are present in the center of the IBR-2 research reactor at radiation levels 16 times higher than the lethal dose for humans per day.
The scientific group is conducting a study on exactly what genetic mechanisms allowed fungi to adapt to survive in such harsh conditions. In the future, scientists plan to re-search the reactor for representatives of this and other kingdoms of wildlife. The work of the specialists is unique in that it was possible to develop a sampling system and collect samples as close as possible to the very "heart" of a nuclear reactor and check whether living organisms live there.
— There is always a radiation background in the area of the IBR-2 reactor: this year, in the inactive state of the reactor, the background was about 160 degrees per day. There are no such indicators anywhere in nature. For comparison, a dose of 10 Gy is fatal for humans," said Elena Kravchenko, head of the JINR Nuclear Power Plant's Molecular Genetics Sector.
At the same time, the IBR-2 has the opportunity to get almost to the very center of the reactor, where the fuel cells are located. The channels of various research facilities are suitable for this, while some channels are located just outside the wall of the reactor core.
For the pilot experiment on sampling, Artur Borodin, head of the JINR's Astrophysical Research Department, manufactured and programmed an automatic box, an airtight box containing a Petri dish with a nutrient medium. The closed container, previously sterilized in the laboratory, was delivered to the far side of channel No. 3. After reaching the point closest to the reactor (less than half a meter from the core), the box automatically opened for 24 hours, then closed again and was transported back.
This sampling method is effective for fungi and bacteria, since their spores and cells can enter a laboratory container with a nutrient medium from the air at the sampling point. The cups that were in the IBR-2 zone were filled with a sterile nutrient medium suitable for the growth and development of certain fungi.
— To our delight, already in the first experiment, seven types of mushrooms grew on the cup, — said Elena Kravchenko.
The fungi grew almost immediately from active, viable cells: literally the next day, the scientists already had small colonies.
Why study living organisms in a radiation zone
The main problem that scientists are solving is how a living organism adapts to extremely high doses of radiation. To do this, it is necessary to determine which genes are located in the genome and in what way. After they are marked up, scientists will conduct experiments with all the discovered species. Geneticists will then isolate RNA from fungal cells from control and irradiated dishes and analyze which genes are activated in response to radiation.
"Knowing which genes responded, we can tell what adaptation mechanisms the body was able to develop during natural selection and harsh living conditions,— explained Elena Kravchenko.
The scientists also plan to send Petri dishes with nutrient media for other organisms to the IBR—2 reactor area before and after the reactor is started.
Such research, in addition to its fundamental scientific importance, will be useful in the future for planning long-range manned space flights, for example, it will be possible to modify agricultural crops in order to grow them on a spacecraft during flight, noted Elena Kravchenko. Radiation-resistant organisms will also be able to help clean up radionuclide-contaminated areas on Earth, and the radioprotection mechanisms they have developed will help protect healthy tissues around a cancerous tumor when it is exposed.
According to Alexander Ermoshin, head of the UrFU Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology, during the study of fungi, it is possible to solve a fundamental scientific problem and find out which genes are involved in the mechanism of protection against radiation and which proteins are formed.
— Perhaps mutations in the genes that lead to such high resistance will be found. Then it will be possible to clone these genes and embed them in other organisms to achieve a similar effect. Since these microorganisms are adapted to high doses of radiation, they probably accumulate some kind of chemicals that allow them to survive under stressful conditions. Mushrooms can be used as producers to develop such substances and then use them as therapeutic or protective drugs," the scientist told Izvestia.
These studies are important in solving the problem of providing food for orbital complexes, the head of the Smart Supply Chain segment of the FoodNet working group told Izvestia NTI Sergey Kosogor. Such studies emphasize that spontaneous mutations resulting from exposure to various environmental conditions have traditionally been a catalyst for the evolution of all living organisms.
— For many years, the harsh conditions of space and its impact on seeds and plants have been studied, the ability of plants to withstand radiation and how changes in plants under the influence of cosmic radiation can increase resilience and help solve the issue of growing crops in outer space, improve the properties of crops, and launch processes necessary for humans have been analyzed, — said the expert.
The study of nuclear methods that will positively affect mushrooms can become the basis for growing crops in space that will not affect human health, and will help to find a suitable and cost-effective solution to providing food for manned space objects. It will make it possible to understand whether space conditions, including cosmic radiation, have a positive effect on the properties of crops and whether they can potentially benefit people on Earth, he said.
It will take several years for scientists in the sector to study the radioresistance of fungi found in the IBR-2 reactor area. The results obtained will be unique, such experiments have not yet been conducted anywhere in the world, experts emphasized.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
