Ermolenko Z M, Martovetskaia V A, Chugunov V A, Kholodenko V P
State Research Center of Applied Microbiology, Obolensk, Moscow oblast, 142279 Russia.
Prikl Biokhim Mikrobiol. 2000 Nov-Dec;36(6):647-51.
Results of experiments on the Mir space station (EO-25 and EO-26) demonstrated that the conditions of orbital flight, primarily the cosmic radiation, was a mutagenic factor affecting both the genotype and phenotype of an oil-oxidizing bacterial strain, Mycobacterium flavescens EX-91. The emerging mutants differed from original culture by the rate of colony growth and the ability to ferment certain carbohydrates or synthesize beta-galactosidase. Changes in the rate of utilization of raw oil and individual hydrocarbon types (constituting model mixtures) suggest that cosmic radiation may serve as a means of obtaining mutant clones of microorganisms with new properties.
