Microbial-Observatory-Mini-Book-04-28-14-508

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Research Scope of an ISS Microbial ObservatoryNASA Space Life Sciences proposes to support research that will discover andcharacterize fundamental mechanisms used by microorganisms and microbialcommunities to adapt to the diverse challenges of the spaceflight environment.That research will use advanced molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics,and cultivation technologies to understand spaceflight microbial communityfundamental properties, interactions with humans, and adaptation to other planetsor interplanetary space.Table 1. Opportunities for Microbial Research on the ISSSubject AreaMicrobialPhysiologyMicrobial EcologyMolecularMicrobiologyMicrobialInteractionsPotential Research Questions for ISS InvestigationsDoes the spaceflight environment cause alterations in microbial growth profiles;response to stressors; motility; and microbial metabolism?Does the spaceflight environment cause alterations in the relative roles of microbialecology and evolution; the human and plant microbiome as a subset of the ISSmicrobiome; microbial interactions with the environment over time; microbial populationdynamics; dynamics of succession; stabilities of closed-model communities (not ambient);mechanisms of community change/biogeography, selection pressure, generationalaspects within selected microbes versus communities; microbial populations occurringnaturally in the environment (air, surfaces, water); and the spread of identified strains asa result of the spaceflight environment?Does the spaceflight environment cause alterations in microbial genomic diversity;genomic evolution; microbial sensing; and the microbial transcriptome, proteome, ormetabolome?Does the spaceflight environment cause alterations in microbe-microbe interactions;host-microbe interactions; plant-microbe interactions; and biofilm formation or function(single species and mixed populations)?Benefits of an ISS Microbial ObservatoryThere are numerous benefits from enabling and expanding microbial diversityresearch on the ISS. From a microbial ecology perspective, research in this areahas the potential to play a major role in the development of the microbial ecologyof indoor environments (Corsi et al. 2012). Millions of dollars have been investedto understand the microbial ecology of terrestrial and marine environments, yetwe know very little about the microbial ecology of the environment we are most10
intimate with—buildings. Humans in the developed world spend more than90 percent of their lives indoors (Klepeis et al. 2001) where they are exposed toairborne and surface microorganisms. These microbial communities might beintimately connected to human health (Burge 1995, Mitchel et al. 2007, Srikanthet al. 2008). Examples include the spread of acute respiratory disease (Cohenet al. 2000, Smith 2000, WHO 2007, Glassroth 2008) and the increase in theoccurrence of asthma symptoms (Ross et al. 2000, Eggleston 2009, Schwartz 2009).Historically, buildings were designed to keep microbes outside using barriers andelaborate, energy-intensive mechanical systems. Yet we don’t fully understand thecauses and consequences of microbial diversity in indoor environments. Indoorecology research challenges scientific paradigms for at least two reasons. First,it reframes the modern field of microbial ecology to include manmade indoorenvironments. Second, it challenges the perspective that the indoor environmentis a place for chemistry, physics, and infection control research. Buildings are idealfor ecology research because they are accessible, “island-like,” and they can beexperimentally manipulated.The ISS offers an unprecedented opportunity to advance indoor ecology research.It provides an experimental platform for controlling two of the largest contributorsto indoor microbial diversity: ventilation source and occupancy load. Research hasshown that ventilation source significantly impacts microbial diversity indoors, withmechanically ventilated rooms harboring more potential airborne pathogens thannaturally ventilated rooms (Kembel et al. 2012). It has also been demonstrated thathuman occupancy load impacts the abundance and diversity of airborne microbes(Qian et al. 2012). Together, these findings suggest that tremendous knowledgewould be gained by conducting experiments in a highly controlled environmentlike the ISS where the ventilation source and occupancy load can be systematicallyanalyzed. By sampling the built environment microbiome and human microbiomein the ISS jointly, it would be possible to tease apart how microbes are exchangedamong humans, indoor air, and indoor surfaces.Another unique benefit of the ISS as an experimental, complex closed ecosystemis that over time the microbial communities present on the space station are likelyto become more and more dominated by human-associated microbes. Within theconfines of the ISS, the environmental control and life support system maintainsa homeostatic environment suitable for sustaining the human crew for six-monthincrements. This environment also acts to sustain and select a human-associated11
Page 1 and 2: National Aeronautics and Space Admi
Page 3: The Lab is OpenOrbiting the Earth a
Page 6 and 7: Table of ContentsChapter 1: Microbi
Page 8 and 9: There is much to be gained by emplo
Page 12 and 13: microbiome that persists on the ISS
Page 14 and 15: 14Staphylococcus aureus are not unc
Page 16 and 17: 16Preventive measures during spacef
Page 18 and 19: compared to controls (Tixador et al
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Page 22 and 23: describing the environment produced
Page 24 and 25: LSMMG-cultured S. Typhimurium suffe
Page 26 and 27: When planning microbiology experime
Page 28 and 29: Light Microscopy Module (LMM)Japan
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Page 32 and 33: time frame that the science team ne
Page 34 and 35: Citations(1969). “Apollo 7to 11:
Page 36 and 37: Fang, A., D. L. Pierson, S. K. Mish
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Page 42 and 43: The Complete ISS Researcher’sGuid
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