Super "supercharging" insects on the International Space Station

Researchers have found that life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can alter "super bugs".

Researchers and microbiologists at NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, have discovered that five different types of Enterobacter are present in the toilets and exercise areas of the ISS.

Previous studies had shown that staying in space altered the insects and made them "supercharged" as they adapted to the new environment in space. This has led to mutations in microbes and modified them. In fact, it was discovered that a particular bacterium was undergoing more than a dozen mutations in space, which reinforced its ability to multiply.

View of the ISS. Image credit: Dima Zel / NASA / Shutterstock

These bacteria have formed biofilms on equipment and the growth of biofilms has proven to be faster than that of similar biofilms on Earth. This meant the rapid multiplication of these bacteria.

Dr. Nitin Singh, lead author of the study, said: "Given the results obtained in terms of multi-drug resistance for these SSI genomes and the increased risks of pathogenicity we have identified, these species could pose health problems. Important for missions to understand that the strains found on the ISS were not virulent, which means that they do not pose an active threat to human health, but that they must be monitored. "

Computer modeling and simulations, however, show that these altered bacteria have a 79% chance of becoming virulent and causing human illness. On Earth, these bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and can only infect those whose immunity is compromised. The team explains that this may not be the case in space because they have 112 genes in common with the pathogenic bacteria of the Earth.

These Enterobacter strains of space have shown resistance to antibiotics such as cefazolin, cefoxitin, oxacillin, penicillin and rifampin, among others.

JPL regularly analyzes microbes from space stations to see if they could harm astronauts in any way or apply to sensitive equipment. Microbiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran said, "To show what species of bacteria were present on the ISS, we used various methods to characterize their genomes in detail. We revealed that the genomes of the five ISS strains of Enterobacter were genetically more similar to the three newly discovered strains on Earth. She added: "These three strains belonged to a species of the bacterium, called Enterobacter bugandensis, who had been found to cause illness in neonates and a compromised patient, who were admitted to three different hospitals (in East Africa, Washington State, and Colorado). "

Venkateswaran said: "Whether or not it acts of an opportunistic pathogen such as E. bugandensis cause of diseases and its degree of threat depends on many factors, including environmental factors … Further in vivo studies are needed to determine the impact of conditions on the ISS, such as microgravity, other factors related to space and spacecraft. , may have on pathogenicity and virulence. "