Antarctic curiosities for the benefit of biotechnology

2011/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biokimika
• Mikrobiologia
• Bioteknologia

Eleven useful species have been found in biotechnology

Some for the creation of protection systems against solar radiation and ultraviolet rays; others for the extraction of biostabilizing molecules that synthesize to survive in saline and cold media (for use in cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry); infinite uses can have the bacteria that have discovered in Antarctica in the initiative Antarctic Bioresources (antarctic biorecursos). This is the objective of the project started in 2008: to find species that can be useful in biotechnology.

More than 200 new species have already been found. Some have the expected characteristics, that is, they are psychophils, halophils, acidophils or alkalophils (they live in cold, salty waters and in extreme pH conditions). However, there have also been found bacteria adapted to non-antarctic conditions. For example, in the ice a microbe has been found that can live at 95ºC. Another can withstand 5,000 times gamma radiation that can withstand any known type of live, despite living 15 meters deep in the permafrado.