Draft Genome Sequences of Lactobacillales Isolated from the International Space Station

Researchers have been studying bacteria that live up there in space to understand how they survive and if they could ever become harmful. They've looked at different types of these tiny organisms, including some called Enterococcus which can sometimes cause diseases here on Earth because they are tough against antibiotics. The scientists want to make sure that the bacteria won't pose a risk for astronauts living in space or when we bring samples back down from there. To do this, they used something called whole-genome sequencing (WGS), which is like reading every letter of their genetic code to see how these microbes are changing up above us and if that could make them more dangerous for people's health on Earth or in space missions.

In this study, we aimed to characterize potentially pathogenic bacteria that have been adapting within the extreme conditions of space. To achieve our objective, national Space Station and commercial resupply vehicles were sampled for microbial presence. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was employed as a comprehensive methodology to identify these organisms at their genetic level. Our key findings revealed the existence of bacteria belonging to the order Lactobacillales, specifically Gram stain-positive and facultative anaerobes previously described by Ludwig et al. (1). Notably, members of the genus Enterococcus were detected within these samples; this is significant as they are known for their human pathogenicity traits such as antibiotic resistance (2), which could pose health concerns not only on Earth but also among astronauts residing in the International Space Station. Furthermore, we identified Aerococcus urinaeequi , a nonpathogenic bacterium that has been found to possess genetic material capable of surviving and adapting within space conditions (3).