Establishment of a co-culture between Chlamydomonas nivalis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for space exploration purposes

• Grant number: 22/16380-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Rodrigues
• Grantee: Carolina Restoy Burgos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Currently, the planet Mars has been the focus of human space exploration, since humans are on their way to making the idea a reality within a few decades. In spite of this, it is an inhospitable planet for human life because of its extreme conditions. Therefore, for human remains to survive in space, it will be necessary to develop technologies that mimic the terrestrial conditions that maintain our survival. Biology is a relevant technology for space exploration, as living organisms are self-replicating and self-repairing, as well as performing several useful chemical reactions. The algae produce 50% of the world's photosynthetic energy and account for the majority of the liquid water available on the planet.Chlamydomonas nivalis, a extremophile commonly known as a snow microalgae, can thrive in a low-temperature, high-radiation environment,presenting an potential astrobiological use. Given that, in nature, organisms are generally associated with each other, we therefore propose to try to establish a state of co-culture between this algae and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an industrial yeast. This fungus was chosen for being successful in synthetic co-cultures established in the literature, in addition to being widely used in industrial processes. Likewise, we have great potential in the fabrication of this co-culture, targeting or increasing the resistance of both to Martian conditions, either from interest when compared with the growth of two consumable cultures, as well as producing compounds for the early stages of space exploration and research in Astrobiology.