When working on something as extraordinary as preparing a spacecraft for a mission to Mars, scientists have to ensure that no Earth bacteria hitch a ride along for the journey. This is why the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has incredibly strict cleanliness standards in these assembly rooms. However, even the cleanest places occasionally harbour some microbial life. Recently, scientists have discovered something astonishing in the Mars 2020 spaceship assembly cleanroom - novel strains of bacteria with potentially useful applications.
The discovery involved thorough genetic detective work from an international team of researchers from Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore; University of Galway, Ireland; Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai; Sano Centre for Computational Personalised Medicine, Krakow, Poland; and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, California, USA.
Scientists found a total of 110 strains from the cleanroom. Then they compared the genetic material (DNA) of these strains with that of known bacteria using whole-genome sequencing on the 110 bacterial strains. They discovered two strains that did not match any known species in their database. These two were classified under the genus Neobacillus. Then they analyzed the 113 known Neobacillus strains. The researchers identified two strains similar to those found in the Mars 2020 mission cleanroom. These were found to be associated with dryland wheat soil and the Agave plant. They classified the bacteria found in the cleanroom as a new species, now named N. driksii.
Comparative genomic analysis revealed that all N. driksii strains have a pathway for producing a lasso peptide called paeninodin, unlike their close relative N. niacini. Lasso peptides are molecular structures that resemble a lasso used by cowboys to rein cattle. These peptides play crucial roles in combating infections and inhibiting harmful enzymes and are naturally produced by a few bacteria. They are of great interest in scientific research because they can fight off harmful bacteria and viruses and have applications in biotechnology.
Furthermore, the benefits extend to other fields like agriculture and environmental science. The bacteria possess genes that can create nicotianamine-like siderophores. These are molecules that play vital roles in seizing metal ions, a trait that can be harnessed in various ways. In agriculture, these molecules can help plants absorb iron, boosting their growth and health. They could also be crucial in bioremediation - a method of using biological organisms to combat hazardous toxins in the environment, helping clean up heavy metal pollutants from contaminated water bodies or soils.
In the future, exploring how these bacteria thrive in environments as diverse as NASA cleanrooms, dryland soils, and plants like Agave could prove useful. Understanding their survival mechanisms could uncover strategies to engineer bacteria that can survive harsh conditions, such as those found on other planets or in extreme environments on Earth.
This research news was partly generated using artificial intelligence and edited by an editor at Research Matters.