The impact of terahertz radiation on an extremophilic archaean Halorubrum saccharovorum proteome

Abstract

Nonthermal effects of terahertz radiation on living objects are currently intensely studied, as more sources of this radiation type and devices employing it are being constructed. Terahertz radiation is increasingly used in security and inspection systems, medical and scientific appliances due to its low quant energy, which does not cause severe effects on organisms as other radiation types with higher quant energies do. The aim of this study was the identification of protein complexes participating in the response of the archaea Halorubrum saccharovorum H3 isolated from an extreme natural environment to terahertz radiation. We developed a microfluidic system for irradiation of bacterial and archaeal cultures with terahertz radiation and performed a 5-hour-long exposure of H. saccharovorum to terahertz radiation at a wavelength of 130 μm and a power density of 0.8 Wt per cm2 for 5 h. We identified under- or overexpressed proteins in response to terahertz radiation using 2D electrophoresis with subsequent MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. A total of 16 differentially expressed protein fractions with at least 1.5-fold changes in expression level were detected. The obtained data suggest that Halorubrum cells respond to exposure to terahertz radiation by expression changes in gene products involved in translation regulation.

Keywords

• free electron laser
• terahertz radiation
• microfluidic system
• halophilic thermotolerant archaea.