STARSET_MirrorWorld’s Toughest Organisms Hold Potential Answer to Problems on Mars and Earth
By Rhodilee jean A Dolor
The microbe Conan the Bacterium, more formally known as Deinococcus radiodurans, is one of the toughest organisms on Earth.
细菌柯南，更正式的名称是耐辐射球菌，是地球上最顽强的生物之一。
While humans can suffer serious health issues following exposure to 0.3 units of radiation called grays and may die after prolonged exposure to about 5 grays, studies have shown that Conan the Bacterium can survive 25,000 grays when suspended in liquid.
虽然人类暴露在0.3个单位的格雷辐射下会出现严重的健康问题，并可能在长时间暴露在约5个格雷辐射下死亡，但研究表明，细菌柯南在悬浮在液体中时可以存活25,000个格雷。
Toughest Organisms on Earth
地球上最顽强的生物
Conan the Bacterium is an example of an extremophile. Extremophile are a diverse group of organisms that can thrive in extreme environments that may otherwise kill most lifeforms.
细菌柯南是极端微生物的一个例子。极端微生物是一种多样化的生物群体，它们可以在极端环境中茁壮成长，否则大多数生命形式都会死亡。
Extremophile can be thermophiles, or those found in high temperature environments and can tolerate temperatures close to the boiling point of water; psychrophiles—those that thrive in permanently cold habitats where temperatures go below the freezing point of water; piezophiles, which can tolerate pressure as high as 1000 atm; halophiles, which can live in environments with high salt concentrations; acidophiles that can survive highly acidic conditions or alkaliphiles, which can thrive in extremely alkaline environments.
极端微生物可以是嗜热生物，也可以是在高温环境中发现的，可以忍受接近水沸点的温度;嗜冷生物——那些在温度低于水的冰点的永久寒冷栖息地中茁壮成长的生物;耐高压1000atm的嗜压菌;嗜盐菌，可以生活在高盐浓度的环境中;可以在高酸性条件下生存的嗜酸菌或可以在极碱性环境中茁壮成长的嗜碱菌。
Conan the Bacterium is a polyextremophile, an organism which can tolerate two or more extreme environmental factors. The bacterium, whose name means “strange berry that withstands radiation,” is distinguished as the most radiation-resistant organism. It can also withstand extreme cold, acid, dehydration and vacuum.
柯南细菌是一种多极端生物，一种可以忍受两种或两种以上极端环境因素的生物。这种细菌，其名字的意思是“抗辐射的奇怪浆果”，被认为是最抗辐射的生物。它还能承受极冷、酸、脱水和真空。
Extremophile May Hold Clue to Finding Alien Life on Mars
极端微生物可能为在火星上发现外星生命提供线索
Space scientists are interested in extremophiles amid search for extraterrestrial life.
在寻找地外生命的过程中，太空科学家对极端微生物很感兴趣。
In a study published in the journal Astrobiology in October 2022, researchers found that if Conan the Bacterium is buried frozen and dried 4 inches below the surface of Mars, it can survive for as long as 1.5 million years. Its lifetime will also significantly increase when it is placed 33 feet below the planet, where it could persist for up to 280 million years.
在2022年10月发表在《天体生物学》杂志上的一项研究中，研究人员发现，如果细菌柯南被冷冻和干燥地埋在火星表面以下4英寸的地方，它可以存活长达150万年。当它被放置在地球以下33英尺时，它的寿命也会显著增加，在那里它可能会持续2.8亿年。
Michael Daly, a professor of Pathology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and member of the Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP) of the National Academies of Sciences, who led the study, said that their findings have important implications in the search for life on Mars.
Michael Daly是健康科学统一服务大学(USUHS)的病理学教授，也是美国国家科学院行星保护委员会(CoPP)的成员，他领导了这项研究，他说他们的发现对寻找火星上的生命具有重要意义。
The researchers suggest that if organisms like Conan the Bacterium once thrived on the Red Planet when water was still flowing on it, it is possible that some of them may have survived underground.
研究人员认为，如果像“细菌柯南”这样的生物曾经在火星上蓬勃发展，当时火星上还有水流动，那么其中一些生物可能在地下存活了下来。
“Although D. radiodurans buried in the Martian subsurface could not survive dormant for the estimated 2 to 2.5 billion years since flowing water disappeared on Mars, such Martian environments are regularly altered and melted by meteorite impacts,” Daly said. “We suggest that periodic melting could allow intermittent repopulation and dispersal.
戴利说:“自从火星上的流水消失以来，尽管埋在火星地下的耐辐射细菌无法在休眠状态下存活大约20到25亿年，但这样的火星环境经常被陨石撞击改变和融化。”“我们认为，周期性的融化可以允许间歇性的繁殖和扩散。
The findings suggest that Mars missions looking for signs of life on the planet should consider exploring large craters younger than 280 million years.
这一发现表明，在火星上寻找生命迹象的任务应该考虑探索年龄小于2.8亿年的大型陨石坑。
“If Martian life ever existed, even if viable lifeforms are not now present on Mars, their macromolecules and viruses would survive much, much longer. That strengthens the probability that, if life ever evolved on Mars, this will be revealed in future missions,” Daly said.
“如果火星上曾经存在过生命，即使火星上现在没有可行的生命形式，它们的大分子和病毒也会生存得更久、更久。这增加了在火星上进化生命的可能性，它们的面纱将在未来的任务中被揭开。”Daly说。
The researchers said that their findings also imply that scientists need to treat with caution the Martian soil samples that are being brought to Earth since these may possibly be contaminated with extraterrestrial bacteria.
研究人员说，他们的发现还意味着科学家们需要谨慎对待被带到地球的火星土壤样本，因为这些土壤样本可能被外星细菌污染。
Powerful Uses of Extremophiles
极端微生物的强大用途
Researchers are also drawn to studying extremophiles because of the idea that these organisms have potential uses in several industries and may even offer solution to some of the world’s key problems.
研究人员对极端微生物的研究也很感兴趣，因为他们认为这些生物在几个行业中有潜在的用途，甚至可能为世界上一些关键问题提供解决方案。
In a study published in FEMS Microbiology Letters in August 2021, Juliane Moura, from the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil, and colleagues identified a group of bacteria and yeast that live in photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
在2021年8月发表在FEMS微生物学快报上的一项研究中，巴西São Carlos大学的Juliane Moura和同事们发现了一组细菌和酵母，它们生活在光伏板中，将阳光转化为电能。
The microorganisms thrive despite constant exposure to sunlight and scarcity of water. Given these characteristics, the extremophiles may be used to develop products with extended exposure to sunlight, which include sunscreens, pigments for processed foods, chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
尽管长期暴露在阳光下和缺水的情况下，微生物仍能茁壮成长。鉴于这些特性，嗜极微生物可能被用于开发长时间暴露在阳光下的产品，包括防晒霜、加工食品颜料、化学品、纺织品、药品和化妆品。
“Concerning the biotechnological potential, the presence of metabolites related to stress resistance in the predicted data indicates that the microbial community investigated is possibly a supply of desired products,” the researchers wrote.
研究人员写道:“关于生物技术潜力，预测数据中与抗应力有关的代谢物的存在表明，所调查的微生物群落可能是理想产品的供应。”
Because of their ability to survive in the harshest of the world’s environments, extremophiles also play a role in bioremediation, a process that uses living organisms to remove contaminants, pollutants and toxins from water, soil and other environments.
由于它们能够在世界上最恶劣的环境中生存，极端微生物也在生物修复中发挥作用，这是一个利用活生物体去除水、土壤和其他环境中的污染物、污染物和毒素的过程。
In a research published in Frontiers in Microbiology in May 2022, Júnia Schultz, from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and colleagues found that heat-loving bacteria living in Deception Island, an active volcano in Antarctica, can be used to safely and efficiently clean up oil contamination.
在2022年5月发表在《微生物学前沿》上的一项研究中，Júnia来自阿卜杜拉国王科技大学的舒尔茨和他的同事们发现，生活在南极洲活火山欺骗岛的喜热细菌可以被用来安全有效地清理石油污染。
“Certain bacteria eat petroleum as a source of carbon, nutrients and energy,” said Schultz. “To do this, they first secrete surfactants—substances that break the oil’s surface tension—before absorbing the emulsified petroleum into their cells, where it is degraded via enzymatic activity.”
舒尔茨说:“某些细菌把石油作为碳、营养和能量的来源。”“要做到这一点，它们首先分泌表面活性剂——破坏石油表面张力的物质——然后将乳化石油吸收到细胞中，在细胞中通过酶活性降解石油。”
Studying extremophiles also finds application in the field of medicine
研究极端微生物在医学领域也有应用
In a study published in Nucleic Acids Research in July 2022, researchers reported that an extremophile that lives in the Gobi Desert in northern China and southern Mongolia has a genome that produces powerful antibiotics.
在2022年7月发表在《核酸研究》上的一项研究中，研究人员报告说，生活在中国北部和蒙古南部戈壁沙漠的一种极端微生物的基因组可以产生强大的抗生素。
Paul Dyson, from the Institute of Life Science at the Swansea University Medical School, and colleagues said that the antibiotic can kill four of the top six antibiotic-resistant pathogens, including the highly resistant Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bug.
斯旺西大学医学院生命科学研究所的保罗·戴森和他的同事们说，这种抗生素可以杀死六种最耐抗生素的病原体中的四种，包括高度耐甲氧西林的金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)。
The discovery can pave the way for new and better antibiotic treatments. The extremophile involved in the study may even help combat the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
这一发现可以为新的更好的抗生素治疗铺平道路。参与这项研究的极端微生物甚至可能有助于解决日益严重的抗生素耐药性问题。
According to the first comprehensive analysis of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) published in The Lancet in January 2022, 1.27 million people died in 2019 as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The death toll is higher than that of HIV/AIDS and malaria. Extremophile research may uncover solutions to some of humanity’s most prolific afflictions.
根据2022年1月发表在《柳叶刀》杂志上的关于抗菌素耐药性全球影响的首次全面分析，2019年有127万人死于耐抗生素细菌感染。死亡人数高于艾滋病毒/艾滋病和疟疾。极端微生物的研究可能会为人类最严重的一些痛苦找到解决办法。
