A breakthrough discovery by researchers in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region could hold the key to sustaining life on Mars – and it starts with a humble desert moss. Scientists at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography have decoded the cold-tolerance mechanisms of Syntrichia caninervis, a resilient moss species thriving in extreme environments like the Gobi Desert and Antarctica.
Published in Plant, Cell & Environment, the study reveals how this 'steppe screw moss' survives freezing temperatures through specialized molecular pathways. Researchers say these adaptations could inform technologies to grow crops in space or transform Martian soil conditions.
Dr. Li Xiaoshuang, lead author of the study, told myglobalnews.net: "Understanding how extremophile plants endure stress helps us develop biotech solutions for Earth's climate challenges and future interplanetary colonization." The findings come as global interest grows in sustainable space exploration and climate-resilient agriculture.
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Chinese scientists decode cold-tolerance mechanism in desert moss
cgtn.com
