Space travel is associated with continuous low-dose-rate exposure to high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation. Pathophysiological manifestations after low-dose radiation exposure are strongly influenced by non-cytocidal radiation effects including microbiome and cellular gene expression. Using a mouse model for exposure to high LET radiation we observed substantial changes in the composition and functional potential of the microbiome. These were paralleled by changes in the abundance of multiple metabolites which were related to the enzymatic activity of the altered metagenome by means of metabolic network modeling. There was a complex dynamic in microbial and metabolic composition at different radiation doses suggestive of transient dose-dependent interactions between microbial ecology and signals from the host s cellular damage repair processes. Functional shifts included features associated with dysbiosis at the onset of chronic inflammatory responses which could prMouse fecal microbiome after exposure to high LET radiatione-dispose space travelers to systemic long-term health risks.

Data were generated as part of a NASA-funded study (Turek F (PI) et al. Effects of Spaceflight on Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Mice: Mechanisms and Impact on Multi-System. NASA NRA: NRA NNH14ZTT002N). As part of the study we requested and received samples from RR1. We generated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data from DNA extracted from fecal samples and compared these data to similar data generated on shuttle mission STS-135 and from ground-based studies of radiation. We assessed effect of flight conditions and radiation.

Data were generated as part of a NASA-funded study (Turek F (PI) et al. Effects of Spaceflight on Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Mice: Mechanisms and Impact on Multi-System. NASA NRA: NRA NNH14ZTT002N). As part of the study, we requested and received samples from RR1. We generated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data from DNA extracted from fecal samples, and compared these data to similar data generated on shuttle mission STS-135 and from ground-based studies of radiation. We assessed effect of flight conditions and radiation.

Space travel is associated with continuous low-dose-rate exposure to high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation. Pathophysiological manifestations after low-dose radiation exposure are strongly influenced by non-cytocidal radiation effects including microbiome and cellular gene expression. Using a mouse model for exposure to high LET radiation we observed substantial changes in the composition and functional potential of the microbiome. These were paralleled by changes in the abundance of multiple metabolites which were related to the enzymatic activity of the altered metagenome by means of metabolic network modeling. There was a complex dynamic in microbial and metabolic composition at different radiation doses suggestive of transient dose-dependent interactions between microbial ecology and signals from the host s cellular damage repair processes. Functional shifts included features associated with dysbiosis at the onset of chronic inflammatory responses which could prMouse fecal microbiome after exposure to high LET radiatione-dispose space travelers to systemic long-term health risks.

Spaceflight imposes numerous adaptive challenges for terrestrial life. The reduction in gravity or microgravity represents a novel environment that can disrupt homeostasis of many physiological processes. Additionally it is becoming increasingly clear that an organism s microbiome is critical for host health and examining its resiliency in microgravity represents a new frontier for space biology research. In this study we examine the impact of microgravity on the interactions between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its beneficial symbiont Vibrio fischeri which form a highly specific binary mutualism. First animals inoculated with V. fischeri aboard the space shuttle showed effective colonization of the host light organ the site of the symbiosis during spaceflight. Second RNA-Seq analysis of squid exposed to modeled microgravity conditions exhibited extensive differential gene expression in the presence and absence of the symbiotic partner. Transcriptomic analyses revealed in the absence of the symbiont during modeled microgravity there was an enrichment of genes and pathways associated with the innate immune and oxidative stress response. The results suggest that V. fischeri may help modulate the host stress responses under modeled microgravity. This study provides a window into the adaptive responses that the host animal and its symbiont use during modeled microgravity.

Spaceflight imposes numerous adaptive challenges for terrestrial life. The reduction in gravity or microgravity represents a novel environment that can disrupt homeostasis of many physiological processes. Additionally it is becoming increasingly clear that an organism s microbiome is critical for host health and examining its resiliency in microgravity represents a new frontier for space biology research. In this study we examine the impact of microgravity on the interactions between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its beneficial symbiont Vibrio fischeri which form a highly specific binary mutualism. First animals inoculated with V. fischeri aboard the space shuttle showed effective colonization of the host light organ the site of the symbiosis during spaceflight. Second RNA-Seq analysis of squid exposed to modeled microgravity conditions exhibited extensive differential gene expression in the presence and absence of the symbiotic partner. Transcriptomic analyses revealed in the absence of the symbiont during modeled microgravity there was an enrichment of genes and pathways associated with the innate immune and oxidative stress response. The results suggest that V. fischeri may help modulate the host stress responses under modeled microgravity. This study provides a window into the adaptive responses that the host animal and its symbiont use during modeled microgravity.

Presented here is the environmental microbiome study of the International Space Station surfaces. The environmental samples were collected with the polyester wipes from eight different locations in the ISS during two consecutive sampling sessions (three months apart). The specific objective was to unveil the pool of genes for each location during two separate sessions to learn of functional and metabolic diversity of microorganisms in the ISS. The International Space Station (ISS) as a closed built environment has its own environmental microbiome which is shaped by microgravity, radiation, and limited human presence. The microbial diversity associated with ISS environmental surfaces was investigated during this study. Polyester wipes and contact slides were used for sampling of eight various surface locations on the ISS at different time periods. The samples were retrieved and analyzed immediately upon the return to the Earth (via Soyuz TMA-14M or Dragon capsule from SpaceX). After surface sample collection, contact slides containing nutrient media for the growth of bacteria and fungi were incubated at 25C. The polyester wipes were processed to measure microbial burden (R2A, Blood Agar, and Potato Dextrose Agar) and recover cultivable bacteria as well as fungi. Subsequently, viable microbial burden was assessed using Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) assay, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods after propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment. The 16S-tag and metagenome analyses were used to elucidate viable microbial diversity. The cultivable bacterial population yield from the polyester wipes was very high (5 to 7-logs) when compared with the contact slides (10^2 to 10^3 CFU/m2). The PMA-qPCR analysis showed considerable variation of viable bacterial population (10^5 to 10^9 16S rDNA gene copies/m2) among locations sampled. Unlike contact slides, polyester wipes cover much larger sample surface (~1 m2) and produce much more reliable results of the microbial diversity of the ISS covering both cultivable and non-cultivable species. The cultivable, total, and viable microbial diversity was determined utilizing state-of-the art molecular techniques. The implementation of the PMA assay before DNA extraction allowed distinguishing viable microorganisms, which is crucial for determining their role to the crew health, the ISS maintenance and the general knowledge of the closed environmentally controlled built systems.

The MARS500 project the longest ground-based space simulation ever provided us with a unique opportunity to trace the crew microbiota over 520 days of isolated confinement such as that faced by astronauts in real long-term interplanetary space flights and after returning to regular life for a total of 2 years.

The introduction of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) probiotic microbes into the spaceflight food system has the potential for use as a safe non-invasive daily countermeasure to crew microbiome and immune dysregulation. However the microgravity effects on the stress tolerances and genetic expression of probiotic bacteria must be determined to confirm translation of strain benefits and to identify potential for optimization of growth survival and strain selection for spaceflight. The work presented here demonstrates the translation of characteristics of a GRAS probiotic bacteria to a microgravity analog environment. Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 was grown in the low shear modeled microgravity (LSMMG) orientation and the control orientation in the rotating wall vessel (RWV) to determine the effect of LSMMG on the growth survival through stress challenge and gene expression of the strain. No differences were observed between the LSMMG and control grown L. acidophilus suggesting that the strain will behave similarly in spaceflight and may be expected to confer Earth-based benefits.

['Microgravity is one of the most important features in spaceflight. Previous evidence has shown that significant changes to the musculoskeletal and immune systems occurred under microgravity. The present study was undertaken to explore the change in protein abundance in human colon colorectal cells that were incubated for 48 or 72 h either in normal conditions and µG simulated conditions. The comparative proteomic method based on the 18O labeling technique was applied to investigate the up-regulated proteins and down-regulated proteins in SH-SY5Y under simulated microgravity.']