ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2012
Desiccation as a long-term survival mechanism for the archaeon Methanosarcina barkeri.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cultivation and genomic characterization of novel methanogens from arid desert biocrust.ISME communications · 2026Article
- The role of extremophile microbiomes in terraforming Mars.Communications biology · 2025Review
- Surviving desiccation: key factors underlying tolerance in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.Protoplasma · 2025Review
- Cell surface differences within the genusJournal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Exploring methanogenic archaea and their thermal responses in the glacier-fed stream sediments of Rongbuk River basin, Mt. Everest.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Article
- Article
- Effects of Desiccation and Freezing on Microbial Ionizing Radiation Survivability: Considerations for Mars Sample Return.Astrobiology · 2022Article
- FISH-TAMB, a Fixation-Free mRNA Fluorescent Labeling Technique to Target Transcriptionally Active Members in Microbial Communities.Microbial ecology · 2022Article
- Delineating the Drivers and Functionality of Methanogenic Niches within an Arid Landfill.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2022Article
- Insights into the biotechnology potential ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
- Microbes from Brine Systems with Fluctuating Salinity Can Thrive under Simulated Martian Chemical Conditions.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Transcriptional response to prolonged perchlorate exposure in the methanogen Methanosarcina barkeri and implications for Martian habitability.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- A rather dry subject; investigating the study of arid-associated microbial communities.Environmental microbiome · 2020Review
- Review
- Transcription of mcrA Gene Decreases Upon Prolonged Non-flooding Period in a Methanogenic Archaeal Community of a Paddy-Upland Rotational Field Soil.Microbial ecology · 2018Article
- Lack of correlation of desiccation and radiation tolerance in microorganisms from diverse extreme environments tested under anoxic conditions.FEMS microbiology letters · 2018Article
- Low Pressure Tolerance by Methanogens in an Aqueous Environment: Implications for Subsurface Life on Mars.Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life · 2017Article
- Xerotolerant bacteria: surviving through a dry spell.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2017Review
- The Adaptability of Life on Earth and the Diversity of Planetary Habitats.Frontiers in microbiology · 2017Article
- Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India.Indian journal of microbiology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Viable methanogens have been detected in dry, aerobic environments such as dry reservoir sediment, dry rice paddies and aerobic desert soils, which suggests that methanogens have mechanisms for long-term survival in a desiccated state. In this study, we quantified the survival rates of the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina barkeri after desiccation under conditions equivalent to the driest environments on Earth and subsequent exposure to different stress factors. There was no significant loss of viability after desiccation for 28 days for cells grown with either hydrogen or the methylotrophic substrates, but recovery was affected by growth phase, with cells desiccated during the stationary phase of growth having a higher rate of recovery after desiccation. Synthesis of methanosarcinal extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) significantly increased the viability of desiccated cells under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions compared with that of non-EPS-synthesizing cells. Desiccated M. barkeri exposed to air at room temperature did not lose significant viability after 28 days, and exposure of M. barkeri to air after desiccation appeared to improve the recovery of viable cells compared with that of desiccated cells that were never exposed to air. Desiccated M. barkeri was more resistant to higher temperatures, and although resistance to oxidative conditions such as ozone and ionizing radiation was not as robust as in other desiccation-resistant microorganisms, the protection mechanisms are likely adequate to maintain cell viability during periodic exposure events. The results of this study demonstrate that after desiccation M. barkeri has the innate capability to survive extended periods of exposure to air and lethal temperatures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.