1
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Tierney BT, Kim J, Overbey EG, Ryon KA, Foox J, Sierra MA, Bhattacharya C, Damle N, Najjar D, Park J, Garcia Medina JS, Houerbi N, Meydan C, Wain Hirschberg J, Qiu J, Kleinman AS, Al-Ghalith GA, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Dhir R, Borg J, Gatt C, Brereton N, Readhead BP, Beyaz S, Venkateswaran KJ, Wiseman K, Moreno J, Boddicker AM, Zhao J, Lajoie BR, Scott RT, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Church GM, Mason CE. Longitudinal multi-omics analysis of host microbiome architecture and immune responses during short-term spaceflight. Nat Microbiol 2024:10.1038/s41564-024-01635-8. [PMID: 38862604 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01635-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Maintenance of astronaut health during spaceflight will require monitoring and potentially modulating their microbiomes. However, documenting microbial shifts during spaceflight has been difficult due to mission constraints that lead to limited sampling and profiling. Here we executed a six-month longitudinal study to quantify the high-resolution human microbiome response to three days in orbit for four individuals. Using paired metagenomics and metatranscriptomics alongside single-nuclei immune cell profiling, we characterized time-dependent, multikingdom microbiome changes across 750 samples and 10 body sites before, during and after spaceflight at eight timepoints. We found that most alterations were transient across body sites; for example, viruses increased in skin sites mostly during flight. However, longer-term shifts were observed in the oral microbiome, including increased plaque-associated bacteria (for example, Fusobacteriota), which correlated with immune cell gene expression. Further, microbial genes associated with phage activity, toxin-antitoxin systems and stress response were enriched across multiple body sites. In total, this study reveals in-depth characterization of microbiome and immune response shifts experienced by astronauts during short-term spaceflight and the associated changes to the living environment, which can help guide future missions, spacecraft design and space habitat planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Braden T Tierney
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - JangKeun Kim
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eliah G Overbey
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- BioAstra, Inc., New York, NY, USA
- Center for STEM, University of Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Krista A Ryon
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan Foox
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Maria A Sierra
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Chandrima Bhattacharya
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Namita Damle
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Deena Najjar
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Jiwoon Park
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - J Sebastian Garcia Medina
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nadia Houerbi
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cem Meydan
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Jake Qiu
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ashley S Kleinman
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Matthew MacKay
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Evan E Afshin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Raja Dhir
- Seed Health, Inc., Venice, CA, USA
- Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, Davos, Switzerland
| | - Joseph Borg
- Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Christine Gatt
- Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Nicholas Brereton
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Benjamin P Readhead
- ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Semir Beyaz
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ryan T Scott
- KBR; Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - George M Church
- Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher E Mason
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- BioAstra, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
- The WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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Irby I, Broddrick JT. Microbial adaptation to spaceflight is correlated with bacteriophage-encoded functions. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3474. [PMID: 38750067 PMCID: PMC11096397 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42104-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Evidence from the International Space Station suggests microbial populations are rapidly adapting to the spacecraft environment; however, the mechanism of this adaptation is not understood. Bacteriophages are prolific mediators of bacterial adaptation on Earth. Here we survey 245 genomes sequenced from bacterial strains isolated on the International Space Station for dormant (lysogenic) bacteriophages. Our analysis indicates phage-associated genes are significantly different between spaceflight strains and their terrestrial counterparts. In addition, we identify 283 complete prophages, those that could initiate bacterial lysis and infect additional hosts, of which 21% are novel. These prophage regions encode functions that correlate with increased persistence in extreme environments, such as spaceflight, to include antimicrobial resistance and virulence, DNA damage repair, and dormancy. Our results correlate microbial adaptation in spaceflight to bacteriophage-encoded functions that may impact human health in spaceflight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Irby
- Space Biosciences Research Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jared T Broddrick
- Space Biosciences Research Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
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3
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Torrance EL, Burton C, Diop A, Bobay LM. Evolution of homologous recombination rates across bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2316302121. [PMID: 38657048 PMCID: PMC11067023 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316302121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacteria are nonsexual organisms but are capable of exchanging DNA at diverse degrees through homologous recombination. Intriguingly, the rates of recombination vary immensely across lineages where some species have been described as purely clonal and others as "quasi-sexual." However, estimating recombination rates has proven a difficult endeavor and estimates often vary substantially across studies. It is unclear whether these variations reflect natural variations across populations or are due to differences in methodologies. Consequently, the impact of recombination on bacterial evolution has not been extensively evaluated and the evolution of recombination rate-as a trait-remains to be accurately described. Here, we developed an approach based on Approximate Bayesian Computation that integrates multiple signals of recombination to estimate recombination rates. We inferred the rate of recombination of 162 bacterial species and one archaeon and tested the robustness of our approach. Our results confirm that recombination rates vary drastically across bacteria; however, we found that recombination rate-as a trait-is conserved in several lineages but evolves rapidly in others. Although some traits are thought to be associated with recombination rate (e.g., GC-content), we found no clear association between genomic or phenotypic traits and recombination rate. Overall, our results provide an overview of recombination rate, its evolution, and its impact on bacterial evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellis L Torrance
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412
| | - Corey Burton
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412
| | - Awa Diop
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
| | - Louis-Marie Bobay
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
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4
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Sengupta P, Muthamilselvi Sivabalan SK, Singh NK, Raman K, Venkateswaran K. Genomic, functional, and metabolic enhancements in multidrug-resistant Enterobacter bugandensis facilitating its persistence and succession in the International Space Station. MICROBIOME 2024; 12:62. [PMID: 38521963 PMCID: PMC10960378 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-024-01777-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The International Space Station (ISS) stands as a testament to human achievement in space exploration. Despite its highly controlled environment, characterised by microgravity, increased CO2 levels, and elevated solar radiation, microorganisms occupy a unique niche. These microbial inhabitants play a significant role in influencing the health and well-being of astronauts on board. One microorganism of particular interest in our study is Enterobacter bugandensis, primarily found in clinical specimens including the human gastrointestinal tract, and also reported to possess pathogenic traits, leading to a plethora of infections. RESULTS Distinct from their Earth counterparts, ISS E. bugandensis strains have exhibited resistance mechanisms that categorise them within the ESKAPE pathogen group, a collection of pathogens recognised for their formidable resistance to antimicrobial treatments. During the 2-year Microbial Tracking 1 mission, 13 strains of multidrug-resistant E. bugandensis were isolated from various locations within the ISS. We have carried out a comprehensive study to understand the genomic intricacies of ISS-derived E. bugandensis in comparison to terrestrial strains, with a keen focus on those associated with clinical infections. We unravel the evolutionary trajectories of pivotal genes, especially those contributing to functional adaptations and potential antimicrobial resistance. A hypothesis central to our study was that the singular nature of the stresses of the space environment, distinct from any on Earth, could be driving these genomic adaptations. Extending our investigation, we meticulously mapped the prevalence and distribution of E. bugandensis across the ISS over time. This temporal analysis provided insights into the persistence, succession, and potential patterns of colonisation of E. bugandensis in space. Furthermore, by leveraging advanced analytical techniques, including metabolic modelling, we delved into the coexisting microbial communities alongside E. bugandensis in the ISS across multiple missions and spatial locations. This exploration revealed intricate microbial interactions, offering a window into the microbial ecosystem dynamics within the ISS. CONCLUSIONS Our comprehensive analysis illuminated not only the ways these interactions sculpt microbial diversity but also the factors that might contribute to the potential dominance and succession of E. bugandensis within the ISS environment. The implications of these findings are twofold. Firstly, they shed light on microbial behaviour, adaptation, and evolution in extreme, isolated environments. Secondly, they underscore the need for robust preventive measures, ensuring the health and safety of astronauts by mitigating risks associated with potential pathogenic threats. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratyay Sengupta
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Nitin Kumar Singh
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, M/S 89-2, 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, 91109, CA, USA
| | - Karthik Raman
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India.
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India.
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, Tamil Nadu, India.
- Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600036, India.
| | - Kasthuri Venkateswaran
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, M/S 89-2, 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, 91109, CA, USA.
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5
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Simpson AC, Sengupta P, Zhang F, Hameed A, Parker CW, Singh NK, Miliotis G, Rekha PD, Raman K, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. Phylogenomics, phenotypic, and functional traits of five novel (Earth-derived) bacterial species isolated from the International Space Station and their prevalence in metagenomes. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19207. [PMID: 37932283 PMCID: PMC10628120 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44172-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
With the advent of long-term human habitation in space and on the moon, understanding how the built environment microbiome of space habitats differs from Earth habitats, and how microbes survive, proliferate and spread in space conditions, is becoming more important. The microbial tracking mission series has been monitoring the microbiome of the International Space Station (ISS) for almost a decade. During this mission series, six unique strains of Gram-stain-positive bacteria, including two spore-forming and three non-spore-forming species, were isolated from the environmental surfaces of the ISS. The analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed > 99% similarities with previously described bacterial species. To further explore their phylogenetic affiliation, whole genome sequencing was undertaken. For all strains, the gyrB gene exhibited < 93% similarity with closely related species, which proved effective in categorizing these ISS strains as novel species. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values, when compared to any known bacterial species, were < 94% and <50% respectively for all species described here. Traditional biochemical tests, fatty acid profiling, polar lipid, and cell wall composition analyses were performed to generate phenotypic characterization of these ISS strains. A study of the shotgun metagenomic reads from the ISS samples, from which the novel species were isolated, showed that only 0.1% of the total reads mapped to the novel species, supporting the idea that these novel species are rare in the ISS environments. In-depth annotation of the genomes unveiled a variety of genes linked to amino acid and derivative synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, pigments, and protein metabolism. Further analysis of these ISS-isolated organisms revealed that, on average, they contain 46 genes associated with virulence, disease, and defense. The main predicted functions of these genes are: conferring resistance to antibiotics and toxic compounds, and enabling invasion and intracellular resistance. After conducting antiSMASH analysis, it was found that there are roughly 16 cluster types across the six strains, including β-lactone and type III polyketide synthase (T3PKS) clusters. Based on these multi-faceted taxonomic methods, it was concluded that these six ISS strains represent five novel species, which we propose to name as follows: Arthrobacter burdickii IIF3SC-B10T (= NRRL B-65660T = DSM 115933T), Leifsonia virtsii F6_8S_P_1AT (= NRRL B-65661T = DSM 115931T), Leifsonia williamsii F6_8S_P_1BT (= NRRL B-65662T = DSM 115932T), Paenibacillus vandeheii F6_3S_P_1CT (= NRRL B-65663T = DSM 115940T), and Sporosarcina highlanderae F6_3S_P_2T (= NRRL B-65664T = DSM 115943T). Identifying and characterizing the genomes and phenotypes of novel microbes found in space habitats, like those explored in this study, is integral for expanding our genomic databases of space-relevant microbes. This approach offers the only reliable method to determine species composition, track microbial dispersion, and anticipate potential threats to human health from monitoring microbes on the surfaces and equipment within space habitats. By unraveling these microbial mysteries, we take a crucial step towards ensuring the safety and success of future space missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna C Simpson
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Pratyay Sengupta
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
| | - Flora Zhang
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Asif Hameed
- Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, 575018, India
| | - Ceth W Parker
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Nitin K Singh
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Georgios Miliotis
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology Group, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Punchappady D Rekha
- Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, 575018, India
| | - Karthik Raman
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
| | - Christopher E Mason
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Kasthuri Venkateswaran
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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6
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Tierney BT, Kim J, Overbey EG, Ryon KA, Foox J, Sierra M, Bhattacharya C, Damle N, Najjar D, Park J, Garcia Medina S, Houerbi N, Meydan C, Wain Hershberg J, Qiu J, Kleinman A, Al Ghalith G, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Dhir R, Borg J, Gatt C, Brereton N, Readhead B, Beyaz S, Venkateswaran KJ, Blease K, Moreno J, Boddicker A, Zhao J, Lajoie B, Scott RT, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Church G, Mason CE. Viral activation and ecological restructuring characterize a microbiome axis of spaceflight-associated immune activation. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2493867. [PMID: 37886447 PMCID: PMC10602132 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2493867/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Maintenance of astronaut health during spaceflight will require monitoring and potentially modulating their microbiomes, which play a role in some space-derived health disorders. However, documenting the response of microbiota to spaceflight has been difficult thus far due to mission constraints that lead to limited sampling. Here, we executed a six-month longitudinal study centered on a three-day flight to quantify the high-resolution microbiome response to spaceflight. Via paired metagenomics and metatranscriptomics alongside single immune profiling, we resolved a microbiome "architecture" of spaceflight characterized by time-dependent and taxonomically divergent microbiome alterations across 750 samples and ten body sites. We observed pan-phyletic viral activation and signs of persistent changes that, in the oral microbiome, yielded plaque-associated pathobionts with strong associations to immune cell gene expression. Further, we found enrichments of microbial genes associated with antibiotic production, toxin-antitoxin systems, and stress response enriched universally across the body sites. We also used strain-level tracking to measure the potential propagation of microbial species from the crew members to each other and the environment, identifying microbes that were prone to seed the capsule surface and move between the crew. Finally, we identified associations between microbiome and host immune cell shifts, proposing both a microbiome axis of immune changes during flight as well as the sources of some of those changes. In summary, these datasets and methods reveal connections between crew immunology, the microbiome, and their likely drivers and lay the groundwork for future microbiome studies of spaceflight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Braden T. Tierney
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - JangKeun Kim
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eliah G. Overbey
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Krista A. Ryon
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan Foox
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Maria Sierra
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Chandrima Bhattacharya
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Namita Damle
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Deena Najjar
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jiwoon Park
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Nadia Houerbi
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cem Meydan
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jeremy Wain Hershberg
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jake Qiu
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ashley Kleinman
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Matthew MacKay
- Tri-Institutional Biology and Medicine program, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Evan E Afshin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Raja Dhir
- Seed Health, Inc, Venice, CA, USA
- Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, Davos, Switzerland
| | - Joseph Borg
- Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, MSD2090, Malta
| | - Christine Gatt
- Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, MSD2090, Malta
| | - Nicholas Brereton
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ben Readhead
- ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Semir Beyaz
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ryan T. Scott
- KBR; Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - George Church
- Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher E. Mason
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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7
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Simpson AC, Sengupta P, Zhang F, Hameed A, Parker CW, Singh NK, Miliotis G, Rekha PD, Raman K, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. Phylogenetic affiliations and genomic characterization of novel bacterial species and their abundance in the International Space Station. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3126314. [PMID: 37461605 PMCID: PMC10350232 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3126314/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Background With the advent of long-term human habitation in space and on the moon, understanding how the built environment microbiome of space habitats differs from Earth habits, and how microbes survive, proliferate and spread in space conditions, is coming more and more important. The Microbial Tracking mission series has been monitoring the microbiome of the International Space Station (ISS) for almost a decade. During this mission series, six unique strains of Gram-positive bacteria, including two spore-forming and three non-spore-forming species, were isolated from the environmental surfaces of the International Space Station (ISS). Results The analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed <99% similarities with previously described bacterial species. To further explore their phylogenetic affiliation, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was undertaken. For all strains, the gyrB gene exhibited <93% similarity with closely related species, which proved effective in categorizing these ISS strains as novel species. Average ucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values, when compared to any known bacterial species, were less than <94% and 50% respectively for all species described here. Traditional biochemical tests, fatty acid profiling, polar lipid, and cell wall composition analyses were performed to generate phenotypic characterization of these ISS strains. A study of the shotgun metagenomic reads from the ISS samples, from which the novel species were isolated, showed that only 0.1% of the total reads mapped to the novel species, supporting the idea that these novel species are rare in the ISS environments. In-depth annotation of the genomes unveiled a variety of genes linked to amino acid and derivative synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, pigments, and protein metabolism. Further analysis of these ISS-isolated organisms revealed that, on average, they contain 46 genes associated with virulence, disease, and defense. The main predicted functions of these genes are: conferring resistance to antibiotics and toxic compounds, and enabling invasion and intracellular resistance. After conducting antiSMASH analysis, it was found that there are roughly 16 cluster types across the six strains, including β-lactone and type III polyketide synthase (T3PKS) clusters. Conclusions Based on these multi-faceted taxonomic methods, it was concluded that these six ISS strains represent five novel species, which we propose to name as follows: Arthrobacter burdickii IIF3SC-B10T (=NRRL B-65660T), Leifsonia virtsii, F6_8S_P_1AT (=NRRL B-65661T), Leifsonia williamsii, F6_8S_P_1BT (=NRRL B- 65662T and DSMZ 115932T), Paenibacillus vandeheii, F6_3S_P_1CT(=NRRL B-65663T and DSMZ 115940T), and Sporosarcina highlanderae F6_3S_P_2 T(=NRRL B-65664T and DSMZ 115943T). Identifying and characterizing the genomes and phenotypes of novel microbes found in space habitats, like those explored in this study, is integral for expanding our genomic databases of space-relevant microbes. This approach offers the only reliable method to determine species composition, track microbial dispersion, and anticipate potential threats to human health from monitoring microbes on the surfaces and equipment within space habitats. By unraveling these microbial mysteries, we take a crucial step towards ensuring the safety and success of future space missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna C. Simpson
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Pratyay Sengupta
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
| | - Flora Zhang
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Asif Hameed
- Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Mangalore 575018, India
| | - Ceth W. Parker
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Nitin K. Singh
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Georgios Miliotis
- Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology Group, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Punchappady D. Rekha
- Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Mangalore 575018, India
| | - Karthik Raman
- Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Center for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine (IBSE), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India
| | - Christopher E. Mason
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Kasthuri Venkateswaran
- Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
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Kumari K, Sharma PK, Ma Y, Singh RP. First Report on the Versatile Secretome of an Environmental Isolate Acinetobacter pittii S-30. Curr Microbiol 2023; 80:202. [PMID: 37145205 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-023-03313-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Acinetobacter species is currently ranked as high-priority pathogen for their extraordinary ability to become resistant to almost all existing antibiotics. The diverse range of effectors secreted by Acinetobacter spp. constitutes a significant proportion of the virulence arsenal. Therefore, our study aims to characterize the secretome of Acinetobacter pittii S-30. Analysis of extracellular secreted proteins of A. pittii S-30 revealed the presence of transporter proteins, outer membrane proteins, molecular chaperones, porins, and several proteins of unknown function. Additionally, proteins related to metabolism, as well as those involved in gene expression and protein translation, type VI secretion system (T6SS) proteins, and stress response-related proteins were also identified in the secretome. The comprehensive analysis of secretome revealed putative protein antigens which could elicit substantial immune response. The limited availability of effective antibiotics and the worldwide growth of secretome data make this approach appealing in the development of effective vaccines against Acinetobacter and other bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Kumari
- Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology BIT Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, 835215, India
| | - Parva Kumar Sharma
- Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Ying Ma
- College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Rajnish Prakash Singh
- Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology BIT Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, 835215, India.
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