Resistance of stratospheric and mesospheric micro-organisms to extreme factors.

Studies of the stratosphere and mesosphere, by means of special analysers installed on meteorological rockets, have thrown more light on our knowledge of the upper boundary of the biosphere. The presence of the following micro-organisms was registered at heights of 49-77 km: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium notatum, Circinella muscae, Papulaspora anomala, Mycobacterium luteum and Micrococcus albus. The isolated micro-organisms were subjected to the action of gamma-irradiation, high vacuum and UV radiation in order to evaluate the quality of sterilization by gamma-rays (3.2-3.5 Mrad) prior to sampling and the resistance of these micro-organisms to physical factors of the stratosphere and mesosphere. No species with high radio-resistance were detected among the isolated cultures. The D10 index for fungal spores and bacterial vegetative cells, freeze-dried or suspended in a physiological solution, did not exceed 290 krad. These data confirm that sterilization of the analyser with gamma-rays assured the purity of biological experiments during sampling. The isolated micro-organisms were found to be very resistant to high vacuum (10(-9) mmHg) and UV radiation, with the exception of the pigmentless Micrococcus albus. This evidence shows that pigmented micro-organisms can survive in the earth's atmosphere at high altitudes.