The work is the result of collaboration between the research groups SYMBIOGENE- GIUV2016-330 (Symbiosis, diversity and evolution in lichens and plants: biotechnology and innovation) and PHOTOBIONTECH--GIUV2016-274 (Biodiversity and Biotechnology of lichen microalgae), both affiliated to the University of Valencia. SYMBIOGENE is directed by Professor Eva Barreno, Emeritus Professor of Botany and researcher at the Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva (ICBiBE); and PHOTOBIONTECH, by Professor Pedro Carrasco, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and researcher at the University Research Institute for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BIOTECMED).
The Trebouxmars project has shown that certain lichen microalgae, extracted from terrestrial lichens, can survive extreme conditions on Mars and be cultivated to produce oxygen, nutrients and compounds useful for future human missions to the red planet. The project is currently at an advanced stage of characterization. "We already have a series of microalgae that can continue to grow after being exposed for 72 hours to simulated conditions on the Martian surface," says Carrasco. "In addition, we have analyzed their behavior at the metabolomic and transcriptomic levels in different extreme environments. We are now delving into the biotechnology applications that this can offer".
"We already have a series of microalgae that can continue to grow after being exposed for 72 hours to simulated conditions on the Martian surface."
From a long-term perspective, microalgae cultivation on Mars is a realistic possibility. "It would not be crazy to imagine microalgae cultures on Mars, although the most realistic way would be in controlled facilities with low nutrient requirements," explains Carrasco. "We could obtain valuable metabolites and even use them as food components. As for oxygen, of course they produce it by being photosynthetic, but it will depend on our ability to scale crops".
Beyond the spatial domain, Trebouxiaceae microalgae that colonize mostly air-terrestrial habitats, the aquatic environment, they are of particular interest for their natural resilience to extreme environmental conditions and their ability to synthesise compounds with potential applications in sectors such as pharmacology or nutrition. "We are talking about organisms with a complex metabolic repertoire, highly adaptable, which can have very diverse uses, both inside and outside the planet Earth," concludes Carrasco. Also, these eukaryotic cells and symbionts have some very novel biological characteristics: the membranes of their chloroplasts, mitochondria and cytoplasm are not denatured. This means that they can recover their original structure and function in a short time, which we are studying with cell biology methodologies, says Barreno.
"It would not be unreasonable to imagine microalgae cultures on Mars, although the most realistic way would be in controlled facilities with low nutrient requirements."
The TREBOUXMARS project, launched within the framework of ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform, reinforces the role of Spanish science at the forefront of research in astrobiology and space biotechnology. The study has been funded by the European Space Agency (IDEA I-2021-05232), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2021-127087NB-I00) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2021/005).