Session
2024 Poster Session
Location
Salt Lake Community College Westpointe Campus, Salt Lake City, UT
Start Date
5-6-2024 9:55 AM
Description
The panspermia hypothesis poses that life originated in space. To test this hypothesis, a model organism capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of space must be used. The brine shrimp genus Artemia represents species of extremophilic zooplankton with adaptations to survive extreme temperatures (-273˚°C to 90˚°C), hydrogen sulfide-reducing environments, HZE particles, oxidation, desiccation, ion exposure, electromagnetic radiation, and anoxia (Skoultchi and Morowitz, 1964; Clegg, 1978; van Stappen, 1996, 2002; Willsie and Clegg, 2001; Clegg and Trotman, 2002; MacRae, 2016). Artemia are so hardy in part due to their ability to produce oviparous encysted embryos instead of live nauplii that can remain dormant until environmental conditions improve. Some cysts were found to hatch after 250 years (Moser et al., 2012). The viability of Artemia cysts in storage have made them excellent models for studying changes in chromatin and gene expression under a variety of conditions. Chromatin is the collection of DNA and proteins (histones) that makes up chromosomes. Chromatin has two states, (1) the tightly bound and transcriptionally inert heterochromatin and (2) the loosely bound transcriptionally active euchromatin (Allshire and Madhani, 2018). Changes in chromatin state of one's genes can significantly alter gene expression. The longevity and adaptations of resistance to harsh conditions of Artemia species make them excellent extremophile model animals for experiments to test the effects of space travel on multicellular life and to test the panspermia hypothesis.
Artemia in Space
Salt Lake Community College Westpointe Campus, Salt Lake City, UT
The panspermia hypothesis poses that life originated in space. To test this hypothesis, a model organism capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of space must be used. The brine shrimp genus Artemia represents species of extremophilic zooplankton with adaptations to survive extreme temperatures (-273˚°C to 90˚°C), hydrogen sulfide-reducing environments, HZE particles, oxidation, desiccation, ion exposure, electromagnetic radiation, and anoxia (Skoultchi and Morowitz, 1964; Clegg, 1978; van Stappen, 1996, 2002; Willsie and Clegg, 2001; Clegg and Trotman, 2002; MacRae, 2016). Artemia are so hardy in part due to their ability to produce oviparous encysted embryos instead of live nauplii that can remain dormant until environmental conditions improve. Some cysts were found to hatch after 250 years (Moser et al., 2012). The viability of Artemia cysts in storage have made them excellent models for studying changes in chromatin and gene expression under a variety of conditions. Chromatin is the collection of DNA and proteins (histones) that makes up chromosomes. Chromatin has two states, (1) the tightly bound and transcriptionally inert heterochromatin and (2) the loosely bound transcriptionally active euchromatin (Allshire and Madhani, 2018). Changes in chromatin state of one's genes can significantly alter gene expression. The longevity and adaptations of resistance to harsh conditions of Artemia species make them excellent extremophile model animals for experiments to test the effects of space travel on multicellular life and to test the panspermia hypothesis.