Daniela Billi Explained

Daniela Billi is an Italian astrobiologist working at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. She is known for her work on desert cyanobacteria of the genus Chroococcidiopsis.^[1]

Work

Daniela Billi showed that desert cyanobacteria from the genus Chroococcidiopsis are highly resistant to extreme environmental conditions including desiccation,^[2] ionizing radiation,^[3] UV radiation,^[4] and various factors encountered in extraterrestrial environments (see for example ^[5]).

Due to insights given by her and her colleagues' work, Chroococcidiopsis is considered as a model genus when studying the current or past habitability of Mars (see for example ^[6]).

She and her colleagues also suggested that Chrooccoccidiopsis could be used in crewed missions on Mars for the production of resources for astronauts.^[7] To move in this direction, she developed genetic engineering tools for those cyanobacteria.^[8]

She is maintaining the Culture Collection of Organisms from Extreme Environments (CCMEE) established by Imre Friedmann.^[9]

Involvement in space missions

Billi is involved in the EXPOSE-R2 mission, an astrobiogy experiment currently exposed outside of the International Space Station. She is responsible for experiments involving Chroococcidiopsis as part of the two major EPOSE-R2 subprojects: Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX), and Biofilm Organisms Surfing Space (BOSS).^{[10] [11]}

Notes and References

1. http://www.astrobio.net/topic/origins/extreme-life/hardy-bacteria-thrive-under-hot-desert-rocks/ Hardy Bacteria Thrive Under Hot Desert Rocks
2. Billi . Daniela . Viaggiu . Emanuela . Cockell . Charles . Rabbow . Elke . Horneck . Gerda . Onofri . Silvano . Damage Escape and Repair in Dried Chroococcidiopsis spp. from Hot and Cold Deserts Exposed to Simulated Space and Martian Conditions. Astrobiology. 2011. 11. 1. 65–73. 10.1089/ast.2009.0430 . 21294638. 2011AsBio..11...65B.
3. Billi. Daniela. Friedman. E. Imre. Hofer. Kurt G.. Ocampo-Friedmann. Roseli. Ionizing-Radiation Resistance in the Desiccation-Tolerant Cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2000. 66. 4. 1489–92. 10.1128/AEM.66.4.1489-1492.2000. 10742231. 92012.
4. Baqué. Mickael. Viaggiu. Emanuela. Scalzi. Giuliano. Billi. Daniela. Endurance of the endolithic desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis under UVC radiation. Extremophiles. 2012. 17. 1. 10.1007/s00792-012-0505-5. 23239185. 161–169.
5. Baqué. Mickael. Verseux. Cyprien. Rabbow. Elke. de Vera. Jean-Pierre P.. Billi. Daniela. Detection of Macromolecules in Desert Cyanobacteria Mixed with a Lunar Mineral Analogue After Space Simulations. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. 44. 3. 10.1007/s11084-014-9367-4. 25351683. 209–221. 2014OLEB...44..209B. 4669540. 2014.
6. Grilli-Caiola. Maria. Billi. Daniela. Chroococcidiopsis from Desert to Mars. Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments. 553–568.
7. Verseux. Cyprien. Baqué. Mickael. Lehto. Kirsi. de Vera. Jean-Pierre P.. Rothschild. Lynn J.. Lynn J. Rothschild. Billi. Daniela. Sustainable life support on Mars – the potential roles of cyanobacteria. International Journal of Astrobiology. 15. 1. 65. 2016IJAsB..15...65V. 2016. 10.1017/S147355041500021X. free.
8. Billi. Daniela. Genetic tools for desiccation- and radiation-tolerant cyanobacteria of the genus Chroococcidiopsis. Current Research, Technology and Education Topics in Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology. 2010. 1517–1521.
9. Web site: FSU - Biological Science - Dr. Imre Friedmann. FSU. Biology. www.bio.fsu.edu.
10. Web site: Lanciati nello spazio gli "estremofili" per cercare vita su Marte: nel team c'è l'università di Tor Vergata. ilmessaggero.it.
11. Web site: Batteri in orbita per simulare la sopravvivenza su Marte - Spazio & Astronomia - Scienza&Tecnica. 24 July 2014. ansa.it.