Decreased metabolism and increased tolerance to extreme environments in Staphylococcus warneri during long ‐term spaceflight

In this study, aStaphylococcus warneri strain that was isolated from the Shenzhou ‐10 spacecraft and had experienced a spaceflight (15 days) was carried into space again. After a 64‐day flight, combined phenotypic, genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses were performed to compare the influence of the two spaceflights on this bacterium. Compared with short‐term spac eflight, long‐term spaceflight increased the biofilm formation ability ofS.  warneri and the cell wall resistance to external environmental stress but reduced the sensitivity to chemical stimulation. Further analysis showed that these changes might be associated with the significantly upregulated gene expression of the phosphotransferase system, which regulates the metabolism of sugars, including glucose, mannose, fructose, and cellobiose. The mutation ofS.  warneri caused by the 15 ‐day spaceflight was limited at the phenotype and gene level after cultivation on the ground. After 79 days of spaceflight, significant changes inS.  warneri were observed. The phosphotransferase system ofS.  warneri was upregulated by long ‐term space stimulation, which resulted in a series of changes in the cell wall, biofilm, and chemical sensitivity, thus enhancing the resistance and adaptability of the bacterium to the external environment.
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research