ArticleEnvironmental microbiology reports2022
Melanin protects Cryptococcus neoformans from spaceflight effects.
Article in Environmental microbiology reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Radiation-Resistant Microbes: Pioneers for Life Beyond Earth.Current microbiology · 2026Review
- Biofilms: from the cradle of life to life support.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
- Review
- Effects of simulated microgravity on biological features and virulence of the fungal pathogenApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Exposure to elevated relative humidity in laboratory chambers alters fungal gene expression in dust from the International Space Station (ISS).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Tear Film and Keratitis in Space: Fluid Dynamics and Nanomedicine Strategies for Ocular Protection in Microgravity.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Radiation protection and structural stability of fungal melanin polylactic acid biocomposites in low Earth orbit.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Integrative Proteome and Metabolomics Analyses of Cryptococcus neoformans Responses to Melanin Substrates Niger seed and L-DOPA.Current microbiology · 2024Article
- Towards the microbial home: An overview of developments in next-generation sustainable architecture.Microbial biotechnology · 2023Article
- Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
As human activity in space continues to increase, understanding how biological assets respond to spaceflight conditions is becoming more important. Spaceflight conditions include exposure to ionizing radiation, microgravity, spacecraft vibrations and hypervelocity; all of which can affect the viability of biological organisms. Previous studies have shown that melanin-producing fungi are capable of surviving the vacuum of space and Mars-simulated conditions in Low Earth Orbit. This survival has been associated in part with the protective effects of melanin, but a comparison of fungal viability in the presence or absence of melanin following spaceflight has never been tested. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of melanin by comparing the viability of melanized and non-melanized clones of Cryptococcus neoformans yeasts following a roundtrip to the International Space Station. Yeast colonies were placed inside two MixStix silicone tubes; one stayed on Earth and the other was transported inside for 29 days before returning to Earth. Post-flight analysis based on colony-forming unit numbers shows that melanized yeast viability was 50% higher than non-melanized yeasts, while no difference was observed between the Earth-bound control samples. The results suggest that fungal melanin could increase the lifespan of biological assets in space.
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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.