Effects of Permafrost Microorganisms on the Quality and Duration of Life of Laboratory Animals

Abstract

Bacillus strain 3M isolated from samples of permafrost from Mamontova Mountain (Yakutiya) affected the quality and duration of life of “elderly” mice. Microorganisms were given i.p. to CBA mice aged 17 months. After treatment with microorganisms, animals showed increases in motor activity, muscle strength (the load-lifting test), the feeding instinct (the dosed starvation test), and cellular immunity in the in vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction, along with improvements in psychoemotional status (the open field test). Mean duration of life increased by 9.19%, minimal duration of life by 41.93%, and maximum duration of life by 7.68%. The duration of “survival” (lifetime after treatment with microorganisms) increased even more significantly: the minimal by 141.9%, the mean by 28.0%, and the maximal by 20.4%. The mechanisms of the influence of strain 3M microorganisms on increases in the duration of life of laboratory mice to the upper limit for the species are suggested to occur via positive influences on quality of life.