Spaced Out

00:00:57
Captain Kaylee Byers: Always happy to have you aboard. I have a feeling you’ve got
something stellar up your sleeve. Or should I say a spacesuit?

00:01:05
Sarah Lando: You know it. As fun as a virtual spaceship is, I’ve got a story that takes
us closer to actual stars.

So Kaylee, space travel is starting to feel a lot less sci- fi these days and more like real
life. More and more people, ahem, billionaires, ahem, are lining up to explore the edges
of our atmosphere. And sure, these trips get all the attention. And when we think of
space, it’s usually the big flashy stuff. You know, exploding stars, super massive, black
holes, galaxies colliding. But today’s story, it’s not about any of that. It’s about
something tiny, microscopic even.

00:01:48
Captain Kaylee Byers: Oh my gosh. I’m so excited to hear a story about actual space
and not the famous people going to space.

00:01:53
Sarah Lando: Right? So our story begins with an exciting new discovery. Scientists
recently found something very curious thriving in China’s Tiangong Space Station. After
doing some routine microbial monitoring aboard the Space Station… You know, standard stuff, they found an unfamiliar strain of bacteria on board. After sequencing its
DNA, they discovered it was a brand new bacterial species never seen before on Earth
and the name? Niallia tiangongensis.

00:02:23
Captain Kaylee Byers: Okay, so they find this new bacteria. You know, just standard space cleaning stuff and they slap a name on it. But what do we know about it other
than its name?

00:02:32
Sarah Lando: Okay, so it’s not totally alien. It’s actually closely related to Earth’s soil microbes. Therefore, it likely hitched a ride to a space station, whether it was on equipment or on a person. Perhaps the person was an avid gardener. Then it did what we all try to do best: survive, but in space. And since the Space Station isn’t exactly its normal environment, this bacteria made some key adaptations, which have been revealed by genomic sequencing.

However, that being said, there’s still a possibility this could be a bacterium we just haven’t identified on Earth yet.

00:03:07
Captain Kaylee Byers: So, okay. Going with the theory that it was a bacteria from Earth that hitched a ride and then evolved some adaptations that were really space worthy, what sort of evolutionary tricks did this hitchhiker have going on?

00:03:21
Sarah Lando: So the space station environment is no five- star hotel. It’s extreme with things like microgravity, increased cosmic radiation and all that jazz. And that stress possibly causes the microbe to activate parts of its genetic toolkit.

00:03:35
Captain Kaylee Byers: Okay, so what’s in that?

00:03:37
Sarah Lando: So for example, stronger oxidative stress response, so its ability to handle radiation and oxygen damage. And biofilm forming behavior, which is like a protective, slimy coating that could help repair DNA damage.

00:03:51
Captain Kaylee Byers: Cool.

00:03:52
Sarah Lando: And this is really interesting because if this bacterium evolved these traits as a survival mechanism, it’s likely that this process unfolded over months or even years, not overnight.

00:04:03
Captain Kaylee Byers: So this is pretty cool, but I don’t want to start stereotyping bacteria because most bacteria are health promoting. They keep our planet functioning, healthy and happy. And so this podcast is a pro- microbe podcast.

But just thinking about the astronauts living on these space stations, they’re in close proximity to this bacteria that we don’t know all that much about. Based off what we know about other bacteria in this same genus, does it have any potential impacts on human health at all?

00:04:37
Sarah Lando: Good question. So as of right now, the bacteria isn’t known to be harmful, but there are related strains on earth that can cause infections in immunocompromised people. It could pose risk to astronauts or spacecraft materials if uncontrolled, though pathogenicity is not confirmed yet.

I think what’s really important is that we stay vigilant. We need to be mindful of proper sanitation in general, and on space stations. This also really teaches us that we need to keep track of how microbes evolve in space, especially because these microbes might even be useful with the right engineering.

00:05:12
Captain Kaylee Byers: Useful, how?

00:05:13
Sarah Lando: So this kind of thing has actually happened before. For example, back in 2021, NASA scientists discovered three never-before-seen types of bacteria living on the International Space Station that they called Methylobacterium ajmalii.

00:05:30
Captain Kaylee Byers: Methylobacterium ajmalii.

00:05:34
Sarah Lando: Yeah, not an easy term to say, but these microbes are related to bacteria that actually help plants grow. So scientists think that maybe one day it could be useful for growing food on Mars.

00:05:46
Captain Kaylee Byers: Whoa. Imagine if Matt Damon had those to help grow all his potatoes.

00:05:50
Sarah Lando: Yeah, exactly.

00:05:51
Captain Kaylee Byers: Potatoes for all.

00:05:52
Sarah Lando: Much better for Matt Damon. So these microbes, they’re constantly adapting, even in environments built to keep them out, which is pretty fascinating. And genomics helps us spot these changes even when we can’t see them with the naked eye.

00:06:06
Captain Kaylee Byers: I love that. Who would’ve guessed that on this podcast, genomics would’ve been here to save the day.

00:06:12
Sarah Lando: And that’s why you’re a DNA detective, Kaylee. So, here’s the thing. We are not going to space alone. We bring trillions of microbes with us. Not just on us, but in us. Remember, we are made of more microbial cells than human cells. And some of these microbial cells may change in unexpected ways under space conditions.

What we need to do is keep an eye on them and think, what are we bringing with us and what are we bringing back as well? Because the more back and forth of humans to space stations, the more opportunity for bacterial colonization. And it’s all part of the story of space exploration, but we need to monitor it.

00:06:52
Captain Kaylee Byers: Wow. It’s really not the journey to space, but the bacterial friends we made along the way.

00:06:57
Sarah Lando: Couldn’t have said that better myself, Kaylee.

00:06:59
Captain Kaylee Byers: Sarah, what a treat, what a treasure to see you as always, and to have you on the pod. I got to say, a star is born.

00:07:06
Sarah Lando: Oh my God. Thanks for making the space to fit me in. How do I go back to Earth right now? Where’s the door?

00:07:15
Captain Kaylee Byers: Oh my God. Don’t touch that.

00:07:16
Sarah Lando: Ah!

00:07:19
Captain Kaylee Byers: Ooh, yikes.

00:07:20
Sarah Lando: Airlock secured.

00:07:22
Captain Kaylee Byers: Well, that’s it for now, Space Travelers. Thanks for tuning into this gene short. We’ll be beaming into your feed with a full episode faster than a shooting star. Until then, this is Captain Byers over and out.