Short (100 bp) dsDNA Stretches Can Withstand 1mGy Gamma-Irradiation Dose
at Jovian Europa’s Surface
Abstract
The DNA molecules are stable but easily fragmented by ionization
radiation, which challenges DNA integrity in searching for evidence for
extraterrestrial life on icy satellites. The objective was to estimate
the highest value of the attenuation effect of freezing temperature on
the efficacy of gamma-radiation in fragmenting dsDNA. A bacterial 16S
rRNA gene inserted in a vector as a lyophilized crude cell lysate was
irradiated (60Co) under the liquid nitrogen conditions
(-195.8oC). The outcome was tested in a specific PCR,
generating the MAIN (~600bp) as well as EXTRA
“mis-primed” small-sized (~70bp) amplicons. At the
ambient temperature, the main PCR product entirely disappeared upon the
doze 7.5kGy while at -195.8oC, it withstood
~750kGy (~100 times difference).
Vise-verse, the EXTRA short amplicon reached the maximum outcome at the
dose ~400kGy and continued to persist until the tested
dose 840kGy. By extrapolation, the given product could be generated upon
irradiating target DNA at a dose of more than 1mGy. Such a find opens a
chance (and time window of more than 25 years) to pick up freshly
flushed out sub-ice-ocean microbes/DNA and get frozen as inclusions in
water matrices on the Jovian Europa to verify the extraterrestrial life.