Biology|The species belonging to the beard moss survives in challenging conditions on Earth, for example in Tibet and Antarctica.
Extremely a resilient species of moss is a promising plant for the early stages of colonizing the solar system, says a new study.
The researchers put a belonging to beard mosses Syntrichia caninervis – to the harsh tests of the sport. The plant was found to survive considerable drought, cold and radiation.
The study was published The Innovation in the journal. It was reported, among other things The Guardian and New Scientist.
Moss according to the researchers, remains alive, for example, in a situation where it loses 98 percent of its water.
The plant is said to “wither without dying”, so to speak.
The recovery of moss from freezing is also amazing. It was found to survive five years of storage at 80 degrees Celsius or one month in liquid nitrogen at 196 degrees Celsius.
Moss were also exposed to considerable gamma radiation in the experiments.
The researchers found that up to five hundred grays, the radiation actually promoted moss growth. Considerable damage only occurred when the radiation was 8,000 grays.
Most plants cannot withstand radiation of more than 500 Grays, and more than 50 Grays is enough to cause severe convulsions in humans and can even lead to death.
Researchers emphasize that their work is significant, especially because it examines the survival of whole plants in extreme conditions for the first time.
The research also focuses on finding out the possibilities of plants to survive in outer space on the surface of the planet instead of in greenhouses.
“The unique findings of our research lay the groundwork for populating outer space by utilizing plants selected by natural selection that have adapted to extreme conditions,” the researchers write in their article.
Research A professor of evolutionary genetics at the University of Florida who commented to The Guardian Stuart McDaniel states that the research has an idea.
“Cultivating Earth’s plants is an important part of any long-term space project because they efficiently convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates – effectively the air and food that humans need to survive,” McDaniel tells The Guardian.
Desert moss isn’t edible, but McDaniel says it could be useful in other ways.
Chief researcher of space biology at research institute SETI Agata Zupanska is on the same lines. He states to The Guardian that the moss could help enrich and change the rocky material on the surface of Mars.
By research also has its limitations. For example, it does not take into account perchlorates, toxic and highly oxidizing chemicals believed to be abundant in Martian soil.
According to Zupanska, for example, particle radiation was not taken into account.
Investigator David Eldridge also states that the moss would probably need a break from the extreme cold and dryness from time to time. However, that would not be available on Mars. Eldridge is a professor of bio, geo and environmental sciences at the University of New South Wales.
According to Eldridge, however, it would probably be possible to take the moss to Mars and put it on the surface.
“If any plant can survive on Mars, it’s that moss. It might survive, but hardly thrive,” Eldridge tells New Scientist.
Correction on July 3, 2024 at 1:32 p.m.: In the entry of the article, the subspecies of bearded mosses was incorrectly written earlier. Syntrichia caninervis is a species of beard moss.
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