2024-11-22 インペリアル・カレッジ・ロンドン(ICL)
<関連情報>
- https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/258553/addressing-medicines-gender-data-microbes-space/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.14288
宇宙から帰還した「リュウグウ」サンプルの地球微生物による迅速なコロニー形成 Rapid colonization of a space-returned Ryugu sample by terrestrial microorganisms
Matthew J. Genge, Natasha Almeida, Matthias Van Ginneken, Lewis Pinault, Louisa J. Preston, Penelope J. Wozniakiewicz, Hajime Yano
Meteoritics & Planetary Science Published: 13 November 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14288
Abstract
The presence of microorganisms within meteorites has been used as evidence for extraterrestrial life, however, the potential for terrestrial contamination makes their interpretation highly controversial. Here, we report the discovery of rods and filaments of organic matter, which are interpreted as filamentous microorganisms, on a space-returned sample from 162173 Ryugu recovered by the Hayabusa 2 mission. The observed carbonaceous filaments have sizes and morphologies consistent with microorganisms and are spatially associated with indigenous organic matter. The abundance of filaments changed with time and suggests the growth and decline of a prokaryote population with a generation time of 5.2 days. The population statistics indicate an extant microbial community originating through terrestrial contamination. The discovery emphasizes that terrestrial biota can rapidly colonize extraterrestrial specimens even given contamination control precautions. The colonization of a space-returned sample emphasizes that extraterrestrial organic matter can provide a suitable source of metabolic energy for heterotrophic organisms on Earth and other planets.
