The astronauts managed to find a new strain (variant) of bacteria that is capable of living in extreme conditions in the space station. Regardless of coming from outer space or earth, these bacteria are considered useful in helping plant growth for life missions on the moon or Mars in the future.
Pastronauts managed to find four new bacteria attached to the International Space Station (ISS). Uniquely, the three types of bacteria are unknown. This raises questions about how the four bacteria arrived at the station, which is 410 km from Earth.
If indeed bacteria can live there, according to experts, this is good news. The discovery of these bacteria is believed to help plant growth in space and help plants fight pathogens, namely biological agents that cause disease.
Previous studies have found strains of tough bacteria that can survive extreme extraterrestrial conditions. The bacteria is deinococcus radiodurans, which is resistant to the mutagenic and lethal effects of various DNA-destroying agents such as exposure to ionizing radiation (ionizing radiation).
Deinococcus radiodurans is listed in the Guinness World Records as the strongest in the world. On the surface of the space station, bacteria can survive for three years. These bacteria are deliberately placed there. One of them is to test Panspermia’s theory that life in the entire universe can fly between planets, ride on space dust, asteroids, and comets.
Another study recently identified diverse populations of bacteria and fungi associated with the human body within the ISS. Even at low gravity, re-circulating air, and high levels of carbon dioxide, bacteria are protected.
Four newly identified bacteria were taken from swab samples (swab) from various locations within the ISS. The first bacteria were found on the dining table. Both of these research areas are used to study low gravity. Third at the Cupola observatory, part of the plane that looks out of the mirror. A fourth known species of bacteria was found in the air-purifying filter.
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All types are rod-shaped bacteria belonging to the Methylobacteriaceae family which are usually found in soil and fresh water. This type usually helps promote plant growth and survive pathogens.
Christine Moissl-Eichinger, a microbiologist at the Medical University of Graz, Austria, assesses that these bacteria are not from outer space. They were carried from Earth to the ISS. This bacteria is even considered to have survived a long time when the construction of the station began.
“All the microbes on the ISS come from the earth. There are astronauts and cargo being sent, brought back to earth. None of the items are completely sterile,” he was quoted as saying. The Guardian.
From Experiment
As well as being related to logistics, previous ISS astronauts have been growing crops for years. The bacteria, originally isolated in 2015 and 2016, are thought to have originated from nitrogen plant growth experiments and plant pathogen control for human missions to the moon or mars.
“To grow plants in extreme places with minimal resources, isolation of new microbes that help plant growth in stressful conditions, is very important,” said team member of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Kasthuri Venkateswaran, confirmed colleagues, Nitin Kumar Singh.
Moissl-Eichinger thinks it is important to understand the types of microbes that can accumulate, survive and even thrive in these unique environments. These microbes can affect the health of astronauts, the structure of spacecraft, or pollute the planets and astronomical objects they visit.
“Because these ISS strains were isolated at different time periods and from multiple locations, their persistence in the ISS environment and their ecological significance in closed systems requires further study,” wrote the Indian-America team published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
The team believes that the bacteria found in the ISS is Methylorubrum rhodesianum. Another bacterium is Methylobacterium indicum, a bacteria that is sometimes found in rice grains. The researchers said the bacteria may provide “biotechnologically useful genetic determinants” for growing plants in space.
Moissl-Eichinger warns against getting too excited about the discovery. The fact that microbes have never been described by science does not necessarily mean all four are important.
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“In every scoop of soil, or stool sample, there are hundreds of microbial species that have not been described. I believe there are still hundreds or even thousands of microorganisms that are less characterized. Maybe even unknown in the ISS,” he said.
“These findings are of course interesting because we aim to send humans on the long journey to Mars one day. They will be covered with billions of microbes. The more we know about all those different species, the better,” he continued.
hay / G-1
(hay / G-1)
Editor : Aloysius Widiyatmaka
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