2026-02-25 ヒューストン大学
Biofilms, shown here, are structured communities of microorganisms that could be important to space exploration.
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2026/february/02252026-biofilm-impact-space-exploration.php
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-025-00875-8
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-017-0020-1
- https://medibio.tiisys.com/166216/
バイオフィルム：生命のゆりかごから生命維持まで Biofilms: from the cradle of life to life support
Katherine J. Baxter,Eszter Sas,Kevin B. Clark,Michaela Walsh,Nikhil Pradeep,Alavia Batool,Charles Naney,Miguel Angel Vargas Cruz,Niamh Kennerdale,Kajari Das,Zhihan Shi,Anish Kelam,Vandana Verma,Marta Filipa Simões,Dirk Neefs,Vinothkannan Ravichandran,Madhan R. Tirumalai,Borja Barbero Barcenilla,Guerrino Macori,Emmanuel Gonzalez,Benjamin Sikes,Fathi Karouia &Nicholas J. B. Brereton
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes Published:22 January 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-025-00875-8
Abstract
Biofilms are intricately associated with life on Earth, enabling functions essential to human and plant systems, but their susceptibility to spaceflight stressors and functional disruption in space remains incompletely understood. During spaceflight, biofilms have largely been considered as potential infrastructure, life support or infection risks. This review focuses on the prevailing beneficial roles of biofilms in human and plant health, and examines evidence of biofilm adaptability in space environments.
長期間にわたり模擬微小重力下で培養された大腸菌細胞の適応は、表現型的にもゲノム的にも重要である The adaptation of Escherichia coli cells grown in simulated microgravity for an extended period is both phenotypic and genomic
Madhan R. Tirumalai,Fathi Karouia,Quyen Tran,Victor G. Stepanov,Rebekah J. Bruce,C. Mark Ott,Duane L. Pierson & George E. Fox
npj Microgravity Published:23 May 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-017-0020-1
Abstract
Microorganisms impact spaceflight in a variety of ways. They play a positive role in biological systems, such as waste water treatment but can be problematic through buildups of biofilms that can affect advanced life support. Of special concern is the possibility that during extended missions, the microgravity environment will provide positive selection for undesirable genomic changes. Such changes could affect microbial antibiotic sensitivity and possibly pathogenicity. To evaluate this possibility, Escherichia coli (lac plus) cells were grown for over 1000 generations on Luria Broth medium under low-shear modeled microgravity conditions in a high aspect rotating vessel. This is the first study of its kind to grow bacteria for multiple generations over an extended period under low-shear modeled microgravity. Comparisons were made to a non-adaptive control strain using growth competitions. After 1000 generations, the final low-shear modeled microgravity-adapted strain readily outcompeted the unadapted lac minus strain. A portion of this advantage was maintained when the low-shear modeled microgravity strain was first grown in a shake flask environment for 10, 20, or 30 generations of growth. Genomic sequencing of the 1000 generation strain revealed 16 mutations. Of the five changes affecting codons, none were neutral. It is not clear how significant these mutations are as individual changes or as a group. It is concluded that part of the long-term adaptation to low-shear modeled microgravity is likely genomic. The strain was monitored for acquisition of antibiotic resistance by VITEK analysis throughout the adaptation period. Despite the evidence of genomic adaptation, resistance to a variety of antibiotics was never observed.
