According to a study released Monday, scientists discovered three new strains of bacteria on the International Space Station.
“Four strains belonging to the family of Methylobacteria they were isolated from different locations on the International Space Station (ISS) on two consecutive flights. ” the study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Nitin Kumar Singh, two of the authors of the document from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explained in a Press release that bacteria formed in the plants that astronauts grew in space.
“To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolating new microbes that help promote plant growth under stressful conditions is critical,” the two said.
The discovery of these new bacteria in plants could lead to advances in plant growth and space agriculture.
“This will further help identify genetic determinants that could be responsible for promoting plant growth under microgravity conditions and contribute to the development of self-sustaining crop crops for long-term space missions in the future, ”the study says.
Three of the bacterial strains were found on the surfaces of the ISS in 2015 and 2016 and the fourth was collected in 2011.
“Needless to say, the ISS is an extreme environment of clean maintenance. Crew safety is the number one priority and therefore it is important to understand human / plant pathogens, but beneficial microbes like this new Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed, ”the scientists said.