Short Note Desiccation resistance of Antarctic Dry Valley bacteria isolatedfrom contrasting locations

摘要

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica exhibit extensive areas completely devoid of ice and are extremely inhospitable to life (Cowan et al. 2002), yet many organisms are known to survive loss of virtually all their cellular water (Billi & Potts 2002). This study aims to investigate the link between desiccation resistance and the microhabitat of Antarctic bacteria testing if bacteria from a more sheltered habitat will exhibit lower desiccation resistance than bacteria from an exposed location. In addition, Deinococcus radiodurans Brooks and Murray is used as model desiccation-resistant organism, in contrast to Escherichia coli, a human enterobacterium with no adaptive requirement for desiccation-resistance.