FP TrendingMar 17, 2021 12:56:31 IST
A recent study says four layers of bacteria have been discovered at the International Space Station (ISS). Three of the bacterial strains are new and previously unknown to science. The ISS is an orbital laboratory located in the lower Earth orbit (LEO) where many astronauts have been seen to maintain the station and conduct scientific experiments in its microgravity environment. Over the past six years, astronauts have collected on various crews a sample from eight spots on the space station, to check for the presence of microbes. According to a CNN report, the latest bacterial rays from Methylobacteriaceae family.
Amara mustard plants grow inside a Veggie facility on the space station for the Veg-03 study, which continues with work exploring how to grow food in space. Image: NASA
The four discovered layers belong to a family of bacteria found in soil and freshwater, but scientists knew only Methylorubrum rhodesianum. Through their findings, researchers have discovered that the other three microbes are relatives Methylobacterium indicum – bacterium separated from rice that can use single-carbon basic fertilizers like methanol or methane as their carbon source for growth. The bacteria are involved in nitrogen fixation, where molecular nitrogen (N2) in the air is converted to ammonia (NH4) and plant growth, and can suppress plant pathogens. Scientists believe that the bacteria will be helpful for the growth of plants in space – a helpful tool for future astronauts who will live in space for a long time.
The crew aboard the space station grow many bags of assorted greens (including mizuna, red romaine lettu and tokyo bekana cabbage). Several veggie facilities run at the same time at any given time. Image: NASA
Claiming that the new rays may have useful biotechnological genetic determinations, scientists said the isolation of novel microbes that help plant growth in bad weather is essential. NASA researchers Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Nitin Kumar Singh were working on this research, according to the report. Both are based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, where Kasthuri is a senior research scientist and Nitin is a planetary defense engineer.
In honor of Indian scientist Ajmal Khan, the researchers have voted to name the new strains of bacteria Methylobacterium ajmalii, according to a The Voice of America report. Along with Venkateswaran and Singh, researchers from the University of Southern California, Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad were also involved in the study.
It was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Boundaries in microbiology on 15 March.